A bill to amend the Penal Code with the aim of protecting the rights of the LGBTQ+ communities in Sri Lanka was handed over to President Ranil Wickremesinghe today (24).
The President’s Media Division (PMD) said that the bill was handed over by Member of Parliament and lawyer Premanath C. Dolawatta.
This bill to amend the Penal Code was submitted to the Parliament yesterday (23) by MP Premanath C. Dolawatta as a Private Member’s Bill.
The society of this country has an extremely backward notion regarding the LGBTQ + community and as a result, not only in daily life, but even in government and law enforcement agencies, this community has been subjected to various forms of violence, oppression and harassment. At times, even their democratic basic rights have been violated.
Punishment of individuals based on sexual orientation and sexual identification was spread throughout the world by colonial legal systems in the Victorian era. But in modern psychiatry, this is not considered a crime or a perversion. Also, developed countries have worked to amend the laws that penalize this community and limit their rights.
The PMD said having taken these factors into consideration, Parliamentarian Premanath C. Dolawatte has submitted this Private Member’s Bill. (NewsWire)
