A Study of War-affected Women with Disabilities in Sri Lanka: Pre-consultation Report

This report, drawing upon disability-inclusive methodologies of co-creation, development and engagement, maps the lived experiences of women with disabilities living within the war-affected areas of Sri Lanka. ‘War affected’ is defined in this work to include women from areas where sustained hostilities took place, that is the Northern and Eastern provinces; women from the ‘border-villages’ of the primary areas where hostilities took place; women from a community expelled from the Northern and Eastern provinces and living in Puttalam, as long-term internally displaced persons; women from the Southern Province; and women from the Malayaha community. The research entailed a four-stage process that significantly focused on building the research capacity of women with disabilities and their advocates, enabling their participation in the project as expert knowers of the interstice of gender and disability under transitional arrangements. Spanning a period of more than 12 months of fieldwork, the outcome of the research is a clear set of recommendations to advance the rights of women with disabilities in law, policy and institutional practice.