By Venessa Anthony
The British Council hosted a panel discussion titled “Unpacking Violence”, to raise awareness on, change the perception of, and destigmatise the conversation around gender-based violence.
The discussion featured five panellists, all specialising in the field of protecting women, and was moderated by Kinita Shenoy.
Ashanthi de Alwis, an artist who pushed boundaries with her music locally and internationally; Anomaa Rajakaruna, who has travelled extensively in Sri Lanka, documenting the lives of community groups; Foundation for Innovative Social Development Director of Programmes Samitha Sugathimala; Nadarajah Sukitharaj, who is the Co-ordinator at the Jaffna Social Action Centre, President of nongovernmental organisation (NGO) Council of Jaffna, and has implemented projects that will reduce the impact of disaster and trauma and promote durable development; and Sharanya Sekaram, who identifies as a feminist writer, researcher, and activist and is a consultant in the gender space.
Ashanthi de Alwis started off by reporting that bystanders can prevent sexual harassment. She stated: “Oxfam reports that 82% of sexual harassment witnesses in Sri Lanka don’t want to intervene.” She went on to describe why she decided to create her latest music video “Rajiniye”, that depicts the story of some of the biggest issues in Sri Lanka – harassment in the workplace and in public transport. “Music is a universal language; people respond to music as a medium that touches the soul or evokes emotion, thereby creating a larger impact on society.”
Anomaa Rajakaruna talked about how the creation of women-led films and art changes the male gaze and the perspective of women: “We have witnessed throughout the history of cinema, women being portrayed as victims or sexual objects. On the other hand, women have started working behind the cameras, and there is a clear difference when women are the ones portraying women stories.”
Nadarajah Sukitharaj explained the challenges women and girls face during a post-war life: “In this war-affected area, gender-based violence is doubled. These women have responsibilities to look after their families. This is where the violence stems from.” He also pointed out that women being powerless to make decisions adds to their vulnerability towards gender-based violence.
Sharanya Sekaram elaborated on the rise in gender-based violence during the pandemic: “Something we’re touting around a lot is that ‘Covid doesn’t discriminate’, but we certainly do; it is those inequalities that are being exposed and deciding how vulnerable you are to the virus. When it comes to women and girls, the less vulnerable they are to the virus the more vulnerable they are to other kinds of violence.” She also mentioned that women have lost their jobs due to the pandemic and are therefore economically challenged. She concluded that while women need to stand up for themselves, we need to build support communities that enable them to do so safely.
Samitha Sugathimala shared her thoughts on what role she thinks men should play in preventing gender-based violence: “We wanted to have a very comprehensive community-based approach where we wanted to first hear the voices of women. Once you go into a community of men and speak, they will deny the issue. Men think that having such programmes against violence against women is not their problem, and women must implement the necessary steps.
“In most communities, when we began speaking to men about their perspective, they understood that they had a role to play – not in terms of protecting their women but in terms of making a system change and creating an enabling environment where they can contribute to the wellbeing of their families.”
Change will not happen overnight. These panellists are striving to make a difference in the lives of women and girls everywhere, in order to better their wellbeing and help them grow into strong, independent women. Achieving the ambition to reach gender equity and eliminate the disadvantage posed to women requires discussion, engagement, and self-reflection.
