The 2019 Women’s Wellbeing Survey (WWS) was Sri Lanka’s first national survey on violence against women and girls, using an internationally recognized standardised methodology. The survey was carried out by the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) with technical assistance from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and its regional kNOwVAWdata Initiative (supported by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)) and funding from the Government of Canada.

The survey covered all 25 districts in Sri Lanka and interviewed more than 2,200 women aged 15 and above. The study found that in Sri Lanka, one in five (20.4%) ever-partnered women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime. In analyzing women’s coping strategies when living with violence by a partner, the study found that nearly half (49.3%) of the women who experienced sexual violence by a partner did not seek formal help anywhere due to reasons such as shame, embarrassment and fear of being blamed or not being believed, and/or thinking the violence was normal or not serious enough to seek help.

Download the full survey report for more data from the survey.