Disclaimer: The following content includes real stories with graphic references to topics such as domestic violence.

For 18 years, Anusha* and her three children fell victim to insults, violent attacks, and sexual abuse from her husband. Each time she fled her home, her husband would visit the places where she sought refuge and force her to return. Despite lodging 10 police complaints, Anusha found that no one was willing to support her. She attempted to take her own life. Her daughter told a friend about these tragic circumstances, and the friend alerted her own mother, a member of a Women In Need (WIN) Watch Group.

EU, UNDP, UNICEF, WIN

This was life changing for Anusha and her family, as WIN provided them with space at a WIN shelter, where they received psychological counselling and legal assistance. By ensuring she secured due attention in court, WIN was able to help Anusha obtain a protection order barring her husband from continuing to harass her and her children. She also received clothes and rations to get by with their daily activities. Acknowledging her talent for sewing, the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs supported her in securing a sewing machine. This resource empowered Anusha to rebuild a stable life, earning a decent living for herself and her children. They now live in safety in a rented house and Anusha is the proud owner of a successful sewing business.

Anusha represents one of over 1,800 women who have leveraged assistance from the Support to Justice Sector Project (JURE) funded by the European Union and jointly implemented by UNDP and UNICEF Sri Lanka, facilitated by the Ministry of Justice. The project contains a holistic package of support to the justice sector in Sri Lanka and is being implemented in close consultation and partnership with key justice sector institutions and stakeholders.

Through JURE’s support to Women In Need (WIN), a civil society organization that works directly with women who have experienced sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), more than 1,800 women across WIN’s seven crisis centres and shelters have benefitted from crisis support and counselling. Meanwhile, over 1,000 women have been bolstered with access to legal aid and court representations.

Through its engagement with WIN, the JURE project has also empowered over 270 women community leaders across all nine provinces of Sri Lanka as Master Trainers on SGBV, laws and rights. Each Master Trainer was provided with resources containing a comprehensive package of information on the laws and rights related to women, and the institutions and helplines equipped to support women experiencing SGBV. These trainers are now empowered to create a ripple effect of change across their communities, tapping into the National Referral System which works across all relevant stakeholders in the country.

EU, UNDP, UNICEF,WIN

As the world commemorates 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence from November 25th to December 10th, the ‘Support to Justice Reform’ (JURE) seeks to ensure improved access to justice for all, particularly women, and persons in vulnerable situations. The project is catalytic to bringing together stakeholders, including state institutions, independent commissions, professional bodies, academic institutions, and civil society, for a national effort in justice sector reform.

 *Names have been changed to protect the identity of the individual.