"Why Are You Getting Separated? You Cannot Live Without Him!"-Disabled Tamil Women's Struggle to Access Protection from Domestic Violence in Rural Sri Lanka.

Area of Science:

• Social Sciences
• Law and Legal Studies
• Disability Studies

Background:

• Tamil women with physical disabilities in rural Sri Lanka encounter substantial obstacles in accessing legal protection.
• Existing research inadequately addresses these barriers through an intersectional framework.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the intersecting factors hindering access to legal protection for Tamil women with disabilities.
• To examine the role of support systems and public bodies in this access.
• To identify failures in legal and policy enforcement.

Main Methods:

• An intersectional approach was employed to unpack the complex interplay of gender, disability, religio-cultural norms, ethnicity, poverty, and rurality.
• The study investigated the impact of support systems and public bodies.
• Analysis focused on legal and policy enforcement failures.

Main Results:

• Multiple intersecting factors, including gender, disability, socio-cultural norms, ethnicity, poverty, and rurality, create significant barriers to legal protection.
• Inadequate and under-resourced gender- and disability-sensitive support systems exacerbate these challenges.
• Public bodies are often ill-equipped, and legal/policy enforcement is weak, further impeding access to justice.

Conclusions:

• Urgent need for integrated, intersectional approaches to address the multifaceted barriers faced by Tamil women with disabilities.
• Recommendations for enhancing support services, strengthening public bodies, and improving legal and policy enforcement are crucial.
• Further research is needed to develop effective interventions and ensure equitable access to protection under the law.