In Pictures: 'Does she travel safe?' campaign

Highlighting sexual harassment in public transport, the ‘Does she travel safe?’ campaign, an initiative to generate awareness on norms and attitudes discriminating against women and girls, was launched recently. 

Leading up to International Women’s Day, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), together with the Colombo Municipal Council, Ministry of Women and Child Affairs, and the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation, launched the ‘Does she travel safe?’ campaign in a bid to generate awareness on sexual harassment in public transport in Sri Lanka. 

The project is a public exhibition featuring real stories of women and girls and their experiences of sexual harassment in buses, and trains which depicts the existence of power structures that perpetuate norms and attitudes discriminating against women and girls. 

According to a study conducted by UNFPA, 90% of women and girls have endured sexual harassment at least once in their lifetime on public buses and trains. Unfortunately, only 4% of the victims have reported the incidents to the police. Lawyer and Activist Shalinie Kulatunga sharing her experiences proved how difficult it could be to battle harassment against women and discriminating attitudes that are rooted deep in the society.

(Pictures by Priyantha Wickramarachchi)