ASIA/SRI LANKA - Defeating violence against women: the commitment of Christian communities

Tuesday, 5 December 2017 women   human rights   civil society   local churches   ecumenicalism   dialogue   violence   human dignity  

Colombo (Agenzia Fides) - "Women in Sri Lanka still face an increasing rate of violence after decades of ethnic conflict and civil war. The Christian community in Sri Lanka is called to a strong commitment to eradicate violence against women at all levels": is the appeal launched by a recent assembly of the" Christian Conference of Asia "(CCA), an ecumenical body that gathers Christian communities present on the continent.
The meeting dedicated to the condition of women was organized in Colombo in collaboration with the "Ecumenical Women's Action against Violence" and the "National Christian Council in Sri Lanka".
As Fides learns, the focus of the consultation, which was attended by women from various Christian Asian communities, including representatives of the Catholic Church, was to evaluate the possibility of coordinated actions to counter the scourge of violence against women in Sri Lanka.
Several study and meeting sessions offered participants the opportunity to analyze the situation of women in depth and in a critical manner and the difficult challenges of life in the aftermath of the situation of conflict
According to studies and local reports, about 40% of women in Sri Lanka today suffer from some type of violence, while over 60% of women are victims of domestic violence.
Those present stressed the importance of mobilizing women and men in Christian communities to work together and engage in the defense of women and gender equality, using both legal mechanisms and national and international conventions, and biblical theology, for a work of cultural awareness.
The action plan developed by the participants aims to continue the path of emancipation and development for women, creating a network and a coalition of women at a local level, to raise awareness and start a process of transformation of the current mentality, in the perspective to promote gender justice, fairness, equality and combat violence against women.
The Secretary General of the CCA, Mathews George Chunakara, announced that the CCA will organize an ecumenical assembly of Asian women in Taiwan in February 2019, to create ecumenical networks of women at a local and international level in Asia. (SD-PA) (Agenzia Fides, 5/112/2017)


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