The Hon. Sajith Premadasa - Leader of the Opposition

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson, I wish to raise a grave matter. As reported, last night within the premises of the Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital, a lady doctor was subjected to severe violence. This occurred while she was on-call duty, on her way to the on-call room, when an outsider brandished a knife, threatened, assaulted her and subjected her to grievous sexual violence within the on-call office. We have not heard of such an incident in our hospital system in recent times.

¶ 02 Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital is a major institution with large crowds. For an outsider to commit such a crime there while the doctor was on duty is extremely serious. This raises a grave question about the safety of lady doctors within our hospital system.

¶ 03 There are hundreds of hospitals with far less security than Anuradhapura. Under such conditions, many lady doctors are in deep shock, fear and distress. We have seen, over time, organized vilification and provocative acts against doctors and health staff. We strongly condemn this heinous act against this lady doctor. People make jokes when speaking of national and public security; cartoons have shown such. But this is no cartoon. Due to this grievous sexual violence, female officers in public service now face difficulty in performing their duties.

¶ 04 A grave issue of national and public security has arisen. We need to know whether the Government is aware of this incident, when it was informed, and what steps are being taken. Recently, on International Women’s Day, many spoke, held ceremonies and pleasant talks. Yet, in the end, such incidents occur, leaving women unprotected. I also have a daughter. All of us feel deeply about this incident. But beyond feelings, we must do more to protect, secure and provide safeguards to our lady doctors and the broader female workforce, in both public and private sectors. I ask the Government what steps will be taken regarding this incident and what protection mechanisms exist and who is accountable, given this crime occurred at a workplace and is heinous. We are ready to support the Government to bring strong laws and impose severe punishments on such vile, bestial, despicable offenders. It is the Government’s duty to present to this House the details and actions regarding this incident. Thank you.