Page 16 - KDU INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE

KDU International Journal of Criminal Justice (KDUIJCJ)
Volume I | Issue II| July 2024

of the perpetrator or possess valuable information pertaining to the
whereabouts of the perpetrators remain silent without providing such

information to them. Such reluctance to cooperate with law enforcement

agencies and to participate in the criminal justice system has far-reaching
consequences for criminal justice and society. Therefore, in addition to

humanitarian reasons, there exists a need as well as justification to

provide effective measures of protection to victims of crime and
witnesses and thereby restore confidence in the criminal justice system.

Unfortunately, as evidenced from the stories set out below the Victims

and Witnesses Rights protection mechanism envisaged by the Act is yet
to be realized.

2.0. Real-life Narratives of Women and Child Victims

The camouflaged stories of women and child survivors will be used to

show how victims of crime have been treated by the prevalent system. An
attempt is made to bring to light the weak implementation structures,

which are almost dysfunctional and, to a great extent, toothless. The first

story is set in 2021 and deals with a young Mother who was a victim of
Family Violence. Lisa was a Foreigner who married a Sri Lankan. She had
5
a three-year-old child. She lived with her husband’s parents in the
Western Province. From the very outset, she was subject to severe

physical, verbal, sexual and cultural violence by her husband and her

Father-in-Law. After three years of absolute ‘domestic torture’ she
escaped her marital home taking her toddler with her. Her first stop was

the Women’s and Children’s Bureau of the Sri Lanka Police. They spent

5 Not her real name
5