The Attorney General’s Department has informed the Court of Appeal that the Inspector General of Police has issued a circular prohibiting police officers from conducting training sessions, lectures or seminars that treat the LGBTIQ community inhumanely and discriminate against them.
When the Attorney General’s Department heard the writ petition filed by several civil society activists before the Court of Appeal challenging the ever-increasing abuse, harassment and discrimination against the people of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Questionable Community (LGBTIQ) This was informed.
When this petition was heard before the Court of Appeal, the Inspector General of Police, who appeared before the court, contacted all the senior police officers of the Sri Lanka Police and agreed to issue a circular and settled the case. Since the relevant circular has been issued by the Inspector General of Police, both parties agreed to settle the case.
Inspector General of Police C.D. Wickramaratne, a consultant psychologist who conducted a training program at the Kandy Police Auditorium, Ama Dissanayake and Deputy Inspector General of Police Chandana Alahakon as respondents, this case was filed by a group of social activists led by Dr. Pakyasothy Saravanamuthu.
The petitioners say that according to a island-wide survey they conducted in 2020-2021 entitled “LGBTIQ Identity Mapping in Sri Lanka”, 12% of the total population identified as LGBTIQ, a projected total of 1,469,574. It includes people between the ages of 18-65 in Sri Lanka.