Sri Lanka

Demographics

Estimated Total Population:

21.67 million

World Bank, 2018

Estimated SGM Population:

1.1 million

Daily Mirror, 2018

Estimated Total SGM Adult Population:

N/A

N/A

Estimated % of SGM Adults (18+):

19.6%

Daily Mirror, 2018

Sexual gender minorities in Sri Lanka face severe cultural stigma and persecution. Minority sexual orientations in Sri Lanka are referred to as “Butterflies’, a derogatory term.Same-sex sexual acts are criminalized under Article 365 of the Sri Lankan Penal Code and same-sex marriages, civil unions remain unrecognized under Sri Lankan Family law. Transgender folk in Sri Lanka are rarely able to “obtain a national identity card and other official documents that reflect their preferred name and gender exposing them to constant and humiliating scrutiny about their gender identity”(Humans Rights Watch).

Sri Lanka's Laws and Policies from ILGA World Report (2019)

RECOGNITION
Marriage for Same-Sex Couples
No
Civil Unions
No
Joint Adoption
No
Second Parent Adoption
No
PROTECTION
Employment Nondiscrimination Laws
No
Broad Protections
No
Criminalization of Violence
No
Ban of Conversion Therapy
No
CRIMINALIZATION
Consensual Same-Sex Acts are Legal?
No
Gender
Any Gender
Max Penalty (Yrs in Prison)
10

Selected Published Studies, Reports, and Other Documents

Areta, J. (2019). Repainting the Rainbow: A Postcolonial Analysis on the Politics of the LGBTQ Movement in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 2020, from http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/8975740

Ellawala, T.I. Mismatched Lovers: Exploring the Compatibility Between LGBTQ+ Identity Theories and Gender and Sexual Plurality in Sri Lanka. Sexuality & Culture 22, 1321–1339 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-018-9528-0

Fernando, S., Wanniarachchi, S., & Vidanapathirana,, J. (n.d.). Montage of Sexuality In Sri Lanka. doi: https://srilanka.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/Montage%20of%20Sexuality.pdf

K.A.T., Prasadika; N.A., Kadugodage. “OYA SAMANALAYEKDA?”: The Architects And Architexts Of Gender And Sexual Nonconforming Identities On Mainstream Sri Lankan Youtube Channels. Asian Journal of Research in Education and Social Sciences, [S.l.], v. 1, n. 2, p. 62-69, dec. 2019. Available at:http://103.8.145.246/index.php/ajress/article/view/7592/3174

Wijewardene, S. (2007). ‘But no one has explained to me who I am now’: ‘Trans’ self-perceptions in Sri Lanka. In S. E. Wieringa, E. Blackwood, & A. Bhaiya (Eds.), Women’s sexualities and masculinities in a globalizing Asia (pp. 101–116). New York: Palgrave Macmillan. https://page-one.springer.com/pdf/preview/10.1057/9780230604124_6