In Sri Lanka, domestic violence is primarily governed by the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act No. 34 of 2005 (PDVA) and Articles 11 and 27 of the Constitution of Sri Lanka, which states the following:
The State shall promote with special care the interests of children and youth, so as to ensure their full development, physical, mental, moral, religious and social, and to protect them from exploitation and discrimination. No person shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
The PDVA does not create the new offense of "domestic violence"; instead, it defines domestic violence as follows:
- acts of physical violence, which constitute only those offenses already recognized under Chapter XVI of the Penal Code (i.e., murder, manslaughter, assault, wrongful confinement or restraint)
- a pattern of cruel, inhuman, degrading or humiliating conduct of a serious nature directed toward an aggrieved person
The PDVA allows "any person" who suffers or who is likely to suffer this violence to seek protection from a magistrate's court, which is empowered to summarily issue an interim protection order to be valid for 14 days.
A protection order, which is valid for 12 months, barring the aggressor from committing further acts of violence and entering the victim's residence, among other things, can then be sought based on evidence.
The PDVA focuses on ensuring the safety of the victim by providing a civil remedy, while preserving the right to initiate separate civil or criminal proceedings as permissible.
The Assistance to and Protection of Victims of Crime and Witnesses Act No. 4 of 2015 is also relevant. The main objective of this act is to uphold and enforce the rights and entitlements of victims of crimes and witnesses, and to provide a mechanism to promote, protect, enforce and exercise these rights and entitlements.