Opinions
The road to decriminalization in Sri Lanka
Country’s Supreme Court this month ruled in favor of MP’s bill

Thanks to its colonial legacy, Sri Lanka is one of 67 countries in the world that still criminalizes same-sex sexual relations among consenting adults. Sections 365 and 365A of Sri Lanka’s Penal Code state that “carnal intercourse against the order of nature” (in other words, any type of sex that is considered unnatural) and “acts of gross indecency” are criminal offenses punishable by law, carrying a sentence of up to 10 years. While they do not specify that these offenses pertain to same-sex sexual relations anymore, they are most often used against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer/questioning (LGBTIQ) community. In addition, the Vagrancy Law and Section 399 of the Penal Code regarding “cheating by personation” (referring to impersonation) are also used against the LGBTIQ community in Sri Lanka, particularly against transgender individuals.
For eons, criminalization has led to arbitrary arrests, inhumane forceful anal examinations, degrading treatment etc. It has sanctioned discrimination, stigmatization, denial of basic human rights, harassment and violence towards LGBTIQ community by state officials in the criminal justice system and unfortunately by the wider public as well. This has led to social and economic marginalization and to the exclusion of LGBTIQ individuals and groups from vital services. EQUAL GROUND, the oldest and one of the truly diverse organizations in Sri Lanka, has been fighting relentlessly for over 19 years to decriminalize consenting same-sex relationships. This has been a roller coaster ride where EQUAL GROUND encountered political and social backlash, tackled online and offline threats, hate comments etc., but it has never given up. As they say, “Rome wasn’t built in a day, but they were laying bricks every hour.” Rather, the attacks and barriers motivated EQUAL GROUND to stand firmly and continue fighting the good fight. Due to its relentless hard work and support from allies, the international community and like-minded organizations, finally we are seeing decriminalization firmly on the table — something which seemed so far-fetched only a couple of years back.
As mentioned earlier, the criminalization of same-sex sexual conduct in Sri Lanka has its origins in 19th century British colonial law. Introduced in 1883, section 365A originally criminalized “any act of gross indecency” between males. In 1995, when reforming the Penal Code — due to a private members bill in 1995 — the government ignored recommendations to repeal the provision and instead amended Section 365A from “male person” to “person,” bringing lesbian and bisexual women within its remit. Consequently, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer (LBTQ) women in Sri Lanka are extremely vulnerable to harassment, violence and discrimination by State actors and by society at large. At the same time, it perpetuates and reinforces the widespread societal stigma against LBTQ women, giving license to harassment and discrimination in employment, housing, education, health care and family relations, to name a few. Realizing and experiencing such discriminatory treatment, in 2018 Rosanna Flamer-Caldera, executive director of EQUAL GROUND (with the support of Human Dignity Trust) challenged the criminalization of lesbians and bisexual women in Sri Lanka by submitting a communication to the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) under the Optional Protocol in August 2018. This move was the first steppingstone towards initiating the process and talk of decriminalization. This ground-breaking case was the first time CEDAW considered an individual complaint relating specifically to the criminalization of lesbian and bisexual women. Flamer-Caldera sought a wide range of remedies, beginning with the repeal of criminalization of same-sex consensual relationships between adult women which is contrary to the Convention. She also sought amongst other things, the wider decriminalization of consensual same-sex activity in private between adults and effective protection from gender-based violence against women based on the intersection of their sex and sexual orientation.
After years of struggle, finally in February 2022, the CEDAW committee ruled the judgment in Flamer-Caldera’s favor. The committee decided that Rosanna Flamer-Caldera’s rights had been violated by the criminalization of same-sex sexual intimacy in Sri Lanka. Moreover, the CEDAW committee urged the government to decriminalize same-sex sexual relations.
In August 2022 Parliamentarian and lawyer Premanath C. Dolawatte presented to Parliament a Private Member’s Bill to amend Sections 365 and 365A of the Penal Code of Sri Lanka with the aim of ensuring the rights of the LGBTIQ community. The bill was subsequently handed over to President Ranil Wickremesinghe where he stated that the government will not oppose the amendment. Dolawatte, at a public forum inclusive of major political parties including the Samagi Jana Balawegaya and Ceylon Workers’ Congress, also stated that he was hopeful that a majority of MPs in the House would support his bill and join the effort to protect the rights of the LGBTIQ community. A revised version of this gill was gazetted and presented to Parliament in March and April 2023 respectively.
In September 2022, EQUAL GROUND was invited by MP Buddhika Pathirana (SJB) to put together a discussion on LGBTIQ inclusion, following which a proposal was made and accepted to (a) the Samagi Jana Balawegaya’s (SJB) National Reforms Committee to incorporate LGBTIQ rights in their party manifesto, (b) sensitize SJB parliamentarians and politicians on sexual orientation and/or gender identities/expressions (SOGIE) issues. This discussion was attended by LGBTIQ activists, lawyers, healthcare professionals, business personnel as well as politicians from the SJB party including the party leader Mr. Sajith Premadasa, who is also the current leader of the opposition.
In December 2022, EQUAL GROUND submitted the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) report (4th cycle), in collaboration with the Center for International Human Rights of Northwestern Pritzker School of Law in Chicago. In this joint submission, as remedial measures EQUAL GROUND sought to decriminalize consensual same-sex sexual conduct by repealing Penal Code Section 365 and 365A and ensuring that Penal Code Section 399 and the Vagrants Ordinance are not misused to target LGBTIQ persons. In February 2023, at the U.N. Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review Working Group session (42nd session), the U.S., the U.K., Canada, New Zealand and Norway, among others, urged Sri Lanka to decriminalize same-sex relationships. Responding to all the recommendations, Minister of Foreign Affairs, President’s Counsel (PC) M.U.M. Ali Sabry assured that the government would work towards decriminalization, however same-sex marriage would not be legalized. Referring to the Private Member’s Bill, he stated that the government will support its position of decriminalizing same-sex relationships.
A petition was presented to the Supreme Court in April this year challenging the constitutionality of the bill to amend the Penal Code. After hearing more than a dozen petitions on both sides of the argument, the Supreme Court has determined that a private member’s bill seeking the decriminalization of homosexuality is not inconsistent with the Constitution. The decision is seen as a historic development that has created hope towards real change. Activists will still have to lobby for support from the 225 parliamentarians to push forward the proposed legislation through Parliament; but it has opened the door of an inclusive and equal future where everybody will be able to enjoy their basic rights regardless of their sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity etc.
Both the president of Sri Lanka and the joint opposition has stated they will not oppose the bill. The next steps for it to eventually become legislation, is a vote with a simple majority at Parliament to see this through.
This Supreme Court decision in early May 2023 is major for the community in terms of any kind of progress they have seen over the last few decades.
On several occasions, the international community has urged the government to decriminalize consensual same-sex sexual conduct. For instance, in 2021 the European Union Parliament adopted a resolution with regard to the withdrawal of Sri Lanka’s GSP+ status given their concern over Sections 365 and 365A of the Penal Code that criminalize individuals with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. Unfortunately, the EU dropped this condition from at the last moment granting GSP+ status to Sri Lanka. It was a severe blow to the LGBTIQ community and EQUAL GROUND who had lobbied at high levels within the EU and had been assured by the EU that indeed decriminalization would be an important condition of Sri Lanka’s GSP+ status.
LGBTIQ rights, from 2021 to until now, has seen some positive changes developing with national laws and policies.
According to EQUAL GROUND’s mapping study in 2021, approximately 12 percent of the Sri Lankan population identify themselves as LGBTIQ. Continuing to preserve Victorian, homophobic laws that penalizes individuals for who they are and/or for choosing a same-sex partner, violates their human rights as citizens of this country and drives the community underground to live in constant fear and in the shadows. Therefore, in order for Sri Lanka to be consistent with international standards of human dignity and rights, these laws can no longer be viewed with the moral standards that existed during the time of their creation. Rather, they have to be viewed in line with modern-day community standards based on the principles of human dignity and respect.
Rosanna Flamer-Caldera is the executive director of EQUAL GROUND.
Opinions
New doc chronicles gay hero’s journey from rape to forgiveness
‘I Am’ embraces message of acceptance, love, compassion

Two award-winning filmmakers produced the documentary film “I Am.” It’s about my Hero’s Journey to overcome a trauma involving anti-LGBT bias. It also features the significant role that the popular comedian Stephen Colbert is playing in this 92,000-mile ongoing mission. A powerfully crafted and impactful film released just in time to celebrate Pride month.
The Arizona filmmakers Ethan and Aidan Sinconis are high school twin brothers. These strong LGBT allies were awarded the best student film in the U.S. in 2024, beating out more than 2,000 entries. The guys then followed up that major accomplishment by using their artistic talent to take on this bold, new film project telling my story to the world.
I shared my adventure with Blade readers back in late 2023 after I experienced a brutal rape and beating at the hands of three men who entered my Phoenix home. I sustained significant injuries.
It was determined that anti-LGBT bias was involved in the police response. I made a chilling 911 call for help. The dispatcher listened helplessly as I was being attacked during that phone call. The three men were surrounding me in the bloody crime scene when the four officers arrived. Three smoking guns. No arrests were made.
History has shown that LGBT folks can’t always rely on the criminal justice system to be there for us. But we can still find peace, happiness, love, and success. The film addresses how I’ve been doing that by continuing on this exhilarating and riveting journey that’s now taken me across the U.S. and Mexico in pursuit of my goal for 3,473 consecutive days and counting.
The film explains the connection to “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” A fortuitous moment of laughter from that TV comedy show stopped me from dying by suicide at 10:44 p.m. on Nov. 2, 2015. That was the call to action I answered.
That spark sent me heading out on an adventure. To learn how to re-engage and trust people again after badly isolating. To learn how to process the anti-LGBT bias and trauma, and to get written support from total strangers in my dedicated mission to become a guest on “The Late Show” at 53rd and Broadway in NYC.
But this documentary is far more than a story about me and my efforts to escape the abyss, despair, and depression that had cloaked me in darkness for so long. This is also a story of 34,291 complete strangers from all walks of life coming together one at a time to help a guy in trouble.
The documentary has elements of the classic movie “It’s a Wonderful Life” in it. Especially the memorable part where Uncle Billy tells George Bailey, “Mary did it, George. Mary did it. She told a few people you were in trouble, and they scattered all over town collecting money. They didn’t ask any questions. Just said if George is in trouble. Count on me.”
That’s what these 34,291 Good Samaritans did for me as I scattered all over the country meeting them. They didn’t ask any questions. They heard I was in trouble and trying to recover from the trauma and get to a goal. They each let me know through their kindness, hugs, and written words that I could count on them.
Perhaps what I like the most about the film is how Ethan and Aidan laid the foundation for who “I Am.” They show that I Am a brother, colleague, son, spouse, survivor, nephew, neighbor, grandson, uncle, friend, and cousin. I Am plenty more than just a gay man. I Am Blake.
Back in the summer of 2020, Pope Francis mailed a personal letter to me and expressed his gratitude for sharing my story with him. Gosh how I wish he was alive to see this completed film. It would have made his heart full. He was all about what this documentary represents. It’s not about revenge, anger, hatred, or sadness. It’s about acceptance, unity, love, empathy, compassion, and forgiveness.
It’s understandable for us in the LGBT community to want to respond with anger in situations like this. Our community has been through centuries of harassment, bullying, discrimination, and bias. But I’ve realized it’s more productive and healing to move past the anger. To use our energy to inform, entertain, and inspire individuals.
That’s what this documentary is about. A beautiful message of hope, support, and optimism for Pride month and beyond. A stand up and cheer film proudly coming out of our resilient community. Fingers crossed for an Academy Award nomination for “I Am.” Much deserved for a film very well done by Ethan and Aidan.
The documentary “I Am” can be found at SinconisStudios.com or on YouTube.
Ron Blake lives in Phoenix and can be reached at [email protected] or @BlakeLateShow on Instagram.
Opinions
US hate groups fuel anti-LGBTQ rights movement in Africa
Anti-LGBTQ conference took place this month in Nairobi

“Protecting and Promoting Family Values in Challenging Times.” This was the theme of the 2nd annual Pan-African Conference on Family Values that concluded last week in Nairobi, Kenya.
For months, organizers have been inundating local media with advertisements, promising to equip participants with tools to “safeguard our values.” One highly circulated poster even boasts U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio as a special invited guest (though he did not attend.) And each mention sent chills down our spines.
This conference, one of several planned across Africa, was sponsored by U.S.-based anti-rights groups including the Family Research Council, the Political Network for Values and the Center for Family and Human Rights, each known for targeting LGBTQI+ and reproductive rights worldwide. To those of us in the LGBTQI+ community who’ve been fighting rising homophobia, this conference was more than a convening. A gauntlet is being thrown down, one that will fuel the momentum of anti-rights efforts in Kenya, one that threatens all of Africa.
To be sure, this burden is not ours alone to bear. The actors pushing their bigoted agenda in Kenya and beyond are the same ones driving policies that block abortion access, whip up anti-immigration sentiments and spread transphobia in the U.S. and beyond. It is imperative that all communities (local and international) jealously guard against such maneuvering. These hatemongers are taking aim at our sovereignty and social constructs. They seek to woo with the proverbial beads and cloth, while simultaneously annexing that which we hold dear. This is not just an LGBTQI+ issue. This is about our inherent human rights and dignity. We need to hold the line.
In Kenya, we knew our hard-won gains for the LGBTQI+ community were in jeopardy when President William Ruto came into office in 2022. He has since been very vocal about his conservative views, perhaps reluctant to alienate himself from his predominantly Christian religious leader sycophants. Nevertheless, we’ve won significant legal battles in recent years, including in 2023 when the Kenyan Supreme Court ruled that LGBT organizations can legally register with words like “gay” and “lesbian” in their names.
Over the years, however, the anti-rights movement has been cultivating allies across Africa to further their agenda. Organizations like Family Watch International, Center for Family and Human Rights and the World Congress of Families (all deemed hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center) have made inroads with influential political leaders with talk of the “natural family,” a narrative that espouses the Western ideal of a nuclear family. In reality, these views run counter to traditional African communal views on family. It is ironic, therefore, that anti-rights actors accuse the gay rights movement of importing Western ideas even as they are readily adopting Western cultural norms.
Our political leaders are being indoctrinated into a culture of hate and division. And global convenings, like the Pan-African Conference on Family Values, are chief among their propaganda tools. In fact, it was after attending one such gathering, the “V Transatlantic Summit” in New York in 2023, that Kenyan MP Peter Kaluma proposed the Family Protection Bill which seeks to ban same-sex relationships and curtail sexual and reproductive health rights, among other measures.
In the past, we could count on the U.S. to keep our political leaders in check. Not anymore. President Trump’s attacks on the queer community in the U.S. have only emboldened the anti-queer movement in Kenya. Anti-rights groups are coming back with renewed vigor to amend our constitution and dismantle all human rights protections. They are already instigating violence and stirring anti-gay sentiment, particularly on social media. Kenyans are losing their jobs or being overly scrutinized at work. An ever-increasing number of LGBTQ+ community members access our online mental health services in deep distress and anxiety about the future.
We will not back down, however. Ahead of the conference, we delivered a petition signed by more than two dozen human rights activists and groups lambasting Kenya Red Cross for allowing the Pan-African Conference on Family Values to be held at its property, the Boma Hotel. How can an organization dedicated to the health and wellbeing of marginalized groups be complicit in an event that stigmatizes and incites harm against the very same people? We’ve also been organizing and strategizing with our allies around community safety, legal rights, hate crime monitoring, and resource mobilization.
Make no mistake, this hate will not stop with Kenya. This conference was part of a larger playbook, and any victories here will propel the anti-right’s cruel campaign throughout Africa. We only need to look to our neighbor Uganda and their Anti-Homosexuality Act as proof. It is widely known that Family Watch International influenced the drafting of this law. The same language that criminalizes homosexuality and imposes the death penalty in certain cases was copied and pasted into Kenya’s proposed Family Protection Bill.
Life and liberty as we all know it is very much in jeopardy. Some may be living too much in survival mode to see it. But without a doubt, we are all on a rollercoaster ride to a place where no one is safe.
Lorna Dias is the outgoing executive coordinator of galck+, a coalition of 18 LGBTQ+ organizations defending human rights and fighting for equality and justice for all in Kenya. Melody Njuki is a communications officer at Initiative for Equality and Non-Discrimination (INEND).
Opinions
WorldPride begins — let’s hope it ends well
D.C. events kick off despite boycotts, Trump attacks

As WorldPride begins with Trans Pride on May 17,, we can only hope when it is over on June 9t we will all be raving about its success.
When D.C. first got designated as host city in November 2022, after Taiwan didn’t work out, there were initial estimates of 2.5 to 3 million people showing up in D.C. to party and celebrate. We talked about this 50th anniversary of Pride as celebrating five decades of advocacy, visibility, and unity, for the LGBTQ community in Washington, D.C., honoring the past, celebrating the present, and inspiring the future.
Anticipation was greatly tempered when Trump, the felon, racist, anti-trans homophobe, liar, and all-around SOB, won the election in November 2024. Then the planning became more difficult and stressful. But here we are and the excitement is palpable. The signs are up around D.C. and Mayor Muriel Bowser, who has been so great for the LGBTQ community, is walking a tightrope to keep D.C. afloat, never knowing what the felon in the White House will do next. To her credit, she is doing an amazing job keeping him at bay. But his vicious anti-trans positions, and his general homophobia, have put a cloud over WorldPride. His immigration policies have led countries around the world to tell their citizens to be very wary if they come to the United States. It is projected as foreign tourists stay away, the United States could lose $12.5 billion this year.
Despite all that, the people at Capital Pride Alliance, who are running WorldPride, have done a commendable job of putting together a program for everyone. From the Human Rights Conference, to the parade, to the festival, where Cynthia Erivo will perform. Shakira will be doing the opening concert at Nat’s stadium, and there are more superstars at the dance party at the RFK site, that should be the site of the new Commanders domed stadium by 2030.
But let us never forget all this is taking place at a time when the United States has a president who is creating havoc in the world and embarrassing us even among our allies. He is a liar and a grifter, a man who thinks nothing of putting people’s lives in danger whether it is sending people illegally to prisons in El Salvador, or creating a culture so nasty, a trans person takes their life in their hands just walking down the street.
He surrounds himself with people like Stephen Miller who wants to suspend habeas corpus, and his Nazi sympathizing co-president, Elon Musk, who just got Trump to invite a bunch of racist South Africans to move here. It’s going on while we have a Secretary of HHS, RFK, Jr., who takes his grandchildren swimming in a polluted creek, and tells others to risk their children’s lives by avoiding vaccines. A president who has cut $800 million in grants from NIH meant to do research to save lives in the LGBTQ community, along with cutting grants and programs that have worked successfully to save people in Africa from dying of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and polio. This is what we are dealing with. Like it or not, this is the backdrop to WorldPride 2025.
Yet, if we give in to this horror, we make it even worse. WorldPride is a way we say to people here in the United States, and those around the world, we in the LGBTQ community are never going back into the closet. We are proud, we are smart, and we are valuable. We make the world a better place, and we will continue to do so despite the pig who occasionally sits in the Oval Office when he is not out golfing or grifting. We can never allow the gay Republicans who make excuses for him, the gay Secretary of the Treasury who has yet to speak out for his community, to go unchallenged. Their silence hurts us as much as the felon sitting in the Oval Office because as the Blade wrote, they are traitors. It is unfortunate, but once again the slogan silence = death has never been more real.
So, speak up, speak out, never stay quiet. Let the world know you are here, and you care. Your life is important and fuck them if they don’t understand that or value it.
Peter Rosenstein is a longtime LGBTQ rights and Democratic Party activist.