Photo credit: Equal Ground, Sri Lanka
My heart is colorful! Story of the Rainbow!
I produced this video using my Apple i7 mobile phone.
The project titled ‘Capture Diversity and Promote Unity’ (funded by US Embassy Sri Lanka) was designed with the aim of utilizing CMIL’s (Center for Media & Information Literacy) expertise in mobile storytelling to capture the diversity of religious and ethnic communities and other groups such as LGBTIQ communities.
I travelled to look for transgender community from underprivileged areas to people who work as strong activists to produce this video. I hope you will accept my apology for several technical mistakes I made on the video.
During the fourth cycle of the Universal Periodic Review by the United Nations Working Group during its 42nd session held in Geneva, Switzerland, recently, the UK, the US, Canada and Norway had urged for the decriminalization of same-sex relationships. The US called on Sri Lanka to respect the rights of LGBTIQ persons and for steps to be taken to stop the discrimination and harassment of the said community.
Section 365 of the Penal Code defines “unnatural offences” as being “Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman, or animal”.
An explanation is provided in that “Penetration is sufficient to constitute the carnal intercourse necessary to the offence”. This is an offence which, if involving adults (in this case over 18 years), upon a guilty conviction, carries a penalty of a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a fine.
Section 365A states: “Any person who, in public or private, commits, or is a party to the commission of, or procures, or attempts to procure, the commission, by any person, or any act of gross indecency, with another person, shall be guilty of an offence.” The punishment upon conviction for the offence between adults is to be sentenced to a maximum term of imprisonment of two years and/or a fine.
Extracted legal information from a leading Sri Lankan English Newspaper “Sunday Morning”
#LGBTIQ #HumanRights #APIF #PeaceBuilders
