Secretary General refutes reports of constant violence against women in Parliament and lack of action

The Secretary General of the Parliament Mrs. Kushani Rohanadeera has said that the reports that there is constant sexual harassment towards female staff members and female Members of Parliament in Parliament and that proper investigations and measures are not being taken are completely false. 

Issuing a statement, the Secretary General emphasized that when such incidents related to disciplinary violations in the Parliament are reported, investigations related to them are carried out very impartially under the guidance of the Speaker and the Speaker did not interfere or influence in any way other than giving his assistance at best towards holding speedy investigations. 

The Secretary General stated that although an incident was reported in which sexual harassment of several female employees was reported, the internal committee appointed in this regard conducted a very impartial investigation and the investigation report has now been handed over to her. Furthermore, she pointed out that the chief officer who is suspected to be involved has been suspended from work and thus the related steps will be taken immediately.

The Secretary General also said that further investigations have been conducted in this regard and has been handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for law enforcement.

The Secretary General further stated that the reports stating that the Leader of the Opposition was notified via a letter regarding such harassment but no proper action was taken are also completely false and the Office of the Leader of the Opposition has confirmed that such a letter has not been received by the Leader of the Opposition thus far.

The Secretary General also points out that she is the head of the Parliament Secretariat and that she is a woman, and that the opportunity for women to head many departments in the Parliament has been created because there is an environment and culture in the Parliament where women can perform their duties without any undue influence or violence.

In such a situation, the Secretary General further states that she is extremely disappointed regarding the publication of completely false, fabricated and baseless information to damage the reputation of the Parliament of Sri Lanka and the Speaker and condemns such publications with contempt, the statement said.