• Notes that words/terms used are not offensive from a legal perspective in certain instances

While action is always taken in response to incidents of verbal abuse targeting female parliamentarians during parliamentary sessions, Speaker of Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana said that it is not possible to do so in certain cases since the words and terms in relation to such are not offensive from a legal perspective.

There have been several incidents of both Government and Opposition female MPs being subjected to verbal abuse in Parliament recently, but several parties, including the victimised female MPs, have charged that there has been no significant action taken against perpetrators of such incidents.

When contacted by The Daily Morning to inquire about the matter, Abeywardana said that the relevant authorities, including his office, have always taken action regarding incidents of female MPs being harassed in Parliament, but that there are certain incidents regarding which action cannot be taken due to the inability to establish an offence. 

“For instance, Government MP Thissa Kuttiarachchi uttered a few words against Opposition MP Rohini Kumari Wijerathna Kavirathna some time ago. There was a broad discussion about it, but the words that he had used were not offensive from a legal perspective. They become offensive in the way we understand them. It may be that the MP used those words with the intention of offending the other (Kavirathna), but how can we prove it? It is with the meaning of the words that we have to deal with and not with the way someone understands them,” he explained.

Incidents of female MPs, including Kavirathna, Thalatha Athukorale, State Ministers Geetha Kumarasinghe, and Diana Gamage, being subjected to verbal abuse in Parliament were reported in recent times. Most incidents have been referred to the Committee on Parliamentary Ethics and Privileges, but there are no reports of action being taken against the relevant perpetrators.