90% of women experience sexual harassment on public transportation in Sri Lanka: UNFPA report

In Sri Lanka, a staggering 90% of women have experienced sexual harassment  on public transport but just 4% seek support from the police, according to UN statistics.

The findings were revealed in a project by The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) together  with Cheer Up Luv, a photojournalism project documenting women's experiences of sexual harassment in public, founded by Eliza Hatch (who worked with Refinery29 and Gina Martin on our #StopSkirtingTheIssue upskirting campaign), raise awareness and give voice to these women's experiences.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has collaborated with Cheer Up Luv, a photojournalism project documenting women's experiences of sexual harassment in public, founded by Eliza Hatch (who worked with Refinery29 and Gina Martin on our #StopSkirtingTheIssue upskirting campaign), to raise awareness and give voice to these women's experiences.

Each day for the next 16 days, dubbed by UN Women as the 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence (which culminates with Human Rights Day on 10th December), the Cheer Up Luv x UNFPA campaign will release a different woman’s story of sexual harassment on public transport in the south Asian country.

A short introductory documentary to the project, Come Home Safely (below), offers a glimpse into the far-reaching impact of this harassment on women and girls' lives. 

Research by UNFPAin 2017 found that 44% of women's personal lives were affected by the harassment they'd faced on public transport, 29% said it affected their school performance, while 37% said it impacted their performance at work.

UNFPA's research found that harassment – and the threat of it – is limiting women's mobility and hence their participation in public life and general wellbeing. A quarter of women surveyed said they were harassed monthly, while for 12% it was a daily occurrence. Some women reported it being so commonplace that they were forced to move elsewhere because there were so few alternative modes of transport.