### UN Finds Systemic Sexual Violence During Civil War 📈

A new United Nations report, released on January 13, 2026, reveals that sexual violence during Sri Lanka’s 26-year civil war was part of a deliberate, widespread, and systemic pattern by state security forces. The findings suggest these acts may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. • Core Findings The report, titled "We lost everything – even hope for justice", details how sexual violence was "institutionally enabled" and used as a strategic tool to extract information, assert dominance, and intimidate communities. While the conflict ended in 2009, the UN highlights that such violations occurred primarily in state-run detention facilities, targeting the Tamil community. • Impact & Scale • Gender: The UN found that men were as likely as women to be victims, though stigma has made their engagement in accountability processes especially challenging. • Long-term Harm: Survivors suffer from chronic physical injuries, infertility, and psychological trauma. • Impunity: Successive governments have failed to investigate these crimes, with no "visible path to justice" currently available. • Legal & Institutional Barriers • A 20-year statute of limitations exists for sexual violence cases. • Sri Lankan law currently does not recognize the rape of men. • The Office for Reparations (est. 2018) has failed to provide concrete support or gender-disaggregated data. • National Context Despite President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s 2024 pledge to "deliver justice," the UN and Human Rights Watch note a lack of progress. The report calls for an independent prosecution office and for international partners to apply targeted sanctions and vetting of military personnel for peacekeeping missions.