Minister of Women and Child Affairs and Chairperson of the Sri Lanka Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus, Saroja Savithri Paulraj, has called for a unified global approach to address gender-based harassment in politics, emphasizing the need for “debate free from hate.”
Addressing the 9th Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) Conference, held as part of the 68th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC) in Bridgetown, Barbados, Minister Paulraj took part in a high-level panel discussion titled “Debate Not Hate: Not Accepting Abuse as an Outcome of Free Speech.”
The session examined how to safeguard women in politics from harassment, hate speech, and online abuse while maintaining freedom of expression. Participants underscored the need to end the misuse of free speech for intimidation and violence and to promote responsible, respectful communication in public life.
In her remarks, Minister Paulraj proposed several key measures, including:
* Developing a model code of conduct for parliamentarians to address gender-based violence, sexism, and online abuse.
* Creating a repository of best practices to help parliaments establish gender-sensitive safeguards and independent complaint systems.
* Introducing mandatory gender-sensitization and anti-harassment training for all Members of Parliament and staff.
She said such steps were vital to building a safe, inclusive environment for women to participate in politics with dignity and respect.