The Federation of Women from Families of Enforced Disappearances has highlighted that the trauma and injustice suffered by families of forcibly disappeared persons also result in additional gender-based impacts on women and girls. The Federation urged the government to prioritise the immediate disbursement of approved interim and final compensation to all eligible families.

The Federation submitted a detailed memorandum to the government and shared it with all foreign embassies in Colombo on March 26 and 27. Key points include:

 

• Women bear disproportionate emotional, social, and economic burdens due to the disappearance of their loved ones.

• Ongoing legal inequalities, gender discrimination, and social-cultural prejudices exacerbate their vulnerability to verbal, physical, and sexual abuse.

• Families’ women often act as primary advocates seeking truth and justice while simultaneously managing economic and social hardships.

 

The memorandum called for swift provision of compensation to eligible families, independent and impartial investigations into enforced disappearance cases, with special priority for gender-based and sexual violence incidents, special allocations to support education, skills development, and safe livelihood opportunities for affected women and girls, and immediate gender-sensitivity training for all relevant government officials, including law enforcement, judiciary, and forensic experts.