by International Truth & Justice Project, South Africa, January 15, 2026
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Press Release
Johannesburg: Survivors of systematic and widespread conflict-related
sexual violence in Sri Lanka say they urgently need justice,
accountability and sustained psychological and social support. The
International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) today launched the
findings of a two-year consultation with Tamil victims in exile
exploring what survivor-centred reparations for sexual violence should
look like.
“For me, reparations primarily mean internal reparations – helping
survivors heal internally and therapeutically. Secondly, reparations
also means holding the Sri Lankan regime accountable for these
atrocities,” said a survivor.
The ITJP consulted fifty men and women who survived rape and other
forms of sexual violence perpetrated by members of the Sri Lankan
security forces during and after the armed conflict that ended in
2009. The study was conducted in London as it was neither safe nor
permissible to conduct such consultations in the former conflict zones
of northern and eastern Sri Lanka. The 68-page report, Opening a
Conversation: The Justice and Reparations Needs of Exiled Tamil
Survivors of Conflict-related Sexual Violence, is illustrated with
participants’ artwork and interspersed with quotes from their
testimonies.
Survivors – many of whom lived for more than a decade in Sri Lanka
after the war – identified their urgent needs. These included more
access to comprehensive psychosocial and health support, protection
and safe housing, opportunities to rebuild a sense of belonging and
community, legal remedies and the identification and prosecution of
perpetrators. “A life filled with happiness, a safe environment, a
healthy state of mind and access to quality education,” was the
desire.
The report vividly conveys the devastating and long-term consequences
of sexual violence-both for individuals and the wider Tamil community.
“The impact is like shellshock,” said one person; “we are seen as the
embodiment of humiliation,” said another.
Survivors described lives marked by fear, stigma and isolation,
whether in Sri Lanka or in exile. Haunted by nightmares, flashbacks,
fearful of uniformed men and security personnel alienated from their
families and communities they struggle to rebuild their lives. “Most
of the victims are left with no option than to attempt to end their
lives by jumping into the wells and hanging themselves,” commented a
survivor. One father poignantly said he didn’t know what to tell his
young son when he asked about the scars on this body.
Survivors spoke of the double victimisation they experienced first by
the state, then by their own community; “It creates a problem for our
own family – we are criticised and marginalised by our own family, and
society does the same”.
“Sometimes, when we are subjected to sexual assault by the Sri Lankan
services, other people in the Tamil community try to abuse us and do
the same”.
The group, which included both men and women, met weekly in a
psychosocial project in London – funding for which has now been cut.
They described difficulties accessing medical and psychological care
both in Britain and in Sri Lanka.
This marked the first time a mixed gender group of Tamil sexual
violence survivors has spoken collectively and openly about their
experiences. “After attending I was able to understand …the impact of
sexual violence is actually the same on men and women. It’s an
important fact,” said another survivor.
Participants initially hesitated to discuss such a taboo subject but
the safe space enabled healing and solidarity: “After the violation we
couldn’t stand in front of and look ourselves in the mirror and now we
can. This is a great achievement,” said one woman.
These survivors endured an extraordinary range of horrific violations
not only sexual violence. “Typically, they and/or their loved ones
have been forcibly recruited to fight, repeatedly displaced, bombed,
shelled, starved, denied medical aid, arbitrarily detained, tortured,
and have witnessed enforced disappearances or summary executions,”
said the ITJP’s executive director, Yasmin Sooka.
While the reparations study focuses specifically on sexual violence,
survivors situated these crimes within a broader pattern of ethnically
targeted persecution.
“This is systematic and deliberate on our community, mostly taking
place as part of the torture in order to destroy the morale, unique
and cultural identities of Tamils and to humiliate the individuals”.
Survivors also explained that the sexual violence they suffered had a
wider psychological impact on their whole community: “videos of how
the Sri Lankan Army abused women – even the corpses of women; this has
a big impact on our community,” they said. Seeing the perpetrators
punished was an overriding desire, because “that will give us some
satisfaction”.
Abduction, torture and sexual violence by the security forces against
Tamils in the former conflict areas has continued since the end of the
war in 2009. Despite repeated findings by United Nations mechanisms
confirming ongoing violations by Sri Lankan security forces, the
Government of Sri Lanka continues to deny and dismiss these crimes.
This entrenched denial, contrary to Sri Lanka’s obligations under
international law, has had a corrosive and retraumatising effect on
survivors. Many participants expressed anger and frustration at both
the Government’s entrenched impunity and the international community’s
failure to act decisively. A discussion on ‘agency’ triggered deep
seated emotions, culminating in fervent appeals for tangible solutions
to an almost intractable sense of betrayal and injustice:
“I have lost all the members of my family to the war and the
international community did nothing to hold the Sri Lankan government
accountable. And you want to talk to me about agency. If the
international community did nothing, what can I do?”
The lack of justice for the crimes suffered returned as a theme again
and again:
“The legal system does not have a solution to our problems. And even
when we try to make someone accountable, they find another ten ways to
escape the legal system, and perpetrators are not punished,” said one
man.
The consultation shows that justice and accountability are inseparable
from survivors’ mental health, dignity and recovery. It highlights
the urgent need for credible international accountability mechanisms,
comprehensive survivor-centered reparations, and sustained
psychosocial support for victims of sexual violence.
The ITJP calls on the United Nations, member states, and donors to
maintain a sustained focus on the ongoing violations in Sri Lanka, to
end impunity and denial, and to amplify the voices of survivors whose
courage continues to break silence in the face of ongoing repression.
Ends
Note to editors: This report was produced by the ITJP with the
financial support of the Global Survivors Fund (GSF)