“Beyond Pink and Blue” A Study of Sri Lanka’s Response to the Human Rights Issue of Homosexual Community in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Homosexuality goes beyond blue and pink or a combination thereof. What are the challenges homosexual individuals in Sri Lanka face in connection to human rights, and how could the importance, weaknesses, and role of initiatives that propose policies of equality be analyzed? The primary objective of this study is to identify the fundamental challenges related to human rights violations faced by the homosexual community in Sri Lanka and the legal interpretation of them. In addition, to understand the types of discrimination and violations, to examine the role of related initiatives concerned, and finally to propose policies that provide equality to all, as a contemporary issue, this investigation has crucial significance because of the sensitivity with which it examines the various sexual orientations, their privacy, and their legal and human rights obligations toward them. The study is carried out with a qualitative approach. The primary data was gathered by using an online questionnaire, covering Sri Lanka with 98 gay and lesbian participants. Also, online and library sources, including books, articles, news, the Constitution, and statutes, are used as secondary data. According to the questionnaire, the main challenge that homosexuals are experiencing is one related to the health sector. 56.5% of the people who responded to the questionnaire did not seek help for the challenges against them, and 27.2% sought help. Therefore, the right mechanism should be implemented to respond to such challenges and should be oriented towards homosexual people. The aspiration of the group is that a developmental and educational awareness of human rights should be started through primary education, and society should increase awareness. The propriety of sections 365 and 365 (A) of the penal code is thus examined. Through this study, human rights violations against homosexuals and Sri Lanka‟s response to them can be identified.