Sri Lanka approves national action plan to eliminate sexual, gender-based harassment

Colombo: The Sri Lankan cabinet approved a multi-sectoral national action plan for implementation between 2024 and 2028 to eliminate sexual and gender-based harassment in the country, said the government information department on Wednesday.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is also the minister of women, children affairs and social empowerment, presented the proposal, the department said, reported Xinhua news agency.

The department said that policy involvement must ensure the right of women, men and children to live in a fair and social environment without any violence, adding that the first national action plan to address such harassment was implemented with an integrated approach between 2012 and 2020.

The necessity of a new national action plan has been identified in a follow-up assessment to find out the impact of the previous action plan, according to the department.