COLOMBO, March 26 -- We the undersigned individuals from civil society, including women's rights activists, scholars and professionals, who have worked extensively on violence against women and girls from the 1990s to date, voice our strong opposition to the proposed amendments to the law on rape and sexual offences in the Penal Code (as amended extensively in 1995). We call for the immediate withdrawal of the proposed Bill.

The Bill must be withdrawn for the following reasons:

1-The complete misunderstanding and misinterpretation of the principle of 'consent' of an underage girl, who is considered by the criminal law of our country, to be lacking in capacity to consent to sex. The Penal Code as amended in 1995 gives the age of 16 as th...