and Tamil communities. There is indication from research and media reports that the concept of family honour motivates family members to kill a spouse, partner, or girlfriend who refuses to conform to male expectations on the duties of a woman in regard to sexual relations. The concept of personal choice is rejected in these situations, legitimizing male violence, coerced sex within marriage, or cohabitation as spouses/partners, and in the extended family, including through incest. Similarly, physical and sexual violence takes place during pregnancy, through coerced sex, and forced abortion. Preventing women from using contraceptives is a dimension of violence that occurs in intra family relationships, and recently in the community, when some extremist religious groups and politicians interfered with the work of family planning clinics and programmes. (See Annex) Another dimension of sexual violence occurs when women are abducted in the community or by family members for the purpose of coerced sex. Similarly, when a man does not disclose that he is married and fraudulently persuades a woman to marry him, and has sex with her apparently with her consent, but in fact through false pretences, since bigamy is a punishable offence in the Penal Code, (S. 362 B), except for Muslim men. There are restrictions in Muslim marriage law regarding the practice of polygamy by men, and a Muslim man cannot generally marry a Non-Muslim woman, and practice polygamy. Such a purported marriage can be considered illegal cohabitation according to Muslim law. (See Annex) All these types of gender based violence can have a negative impact on a woman’s reproductive and sexual health and rights, and violate her fundamental human right to bodily integrity. Such conduct also has negative social costs in the family and community, including health costs and pressure on the delivery of health services. Some acts of sexual violence that involve coercion or interference with the right to contraception can lead to unwanted pregnancies, STD and HIV infection. Women can become infected through a spouse or partner who either has coercive sex, or withholds information from her. GBV or sexual violence can also contribute to forms of self-inflicted physical violence such as suicide by women, or abortion and infanticide, aimed at getting rid of the consequence of pregnancy. (See Annex). The phenomenon of sexual harassment of women including through misuse of the internet and acts that should be considered cyber crimes, constitute a different type of sexual violence. It tends to be perceived as annoying conduct, rather that conduct which should be criminalized, especially because Sri Lanka’s Constitution does not clearly recognize a right of privacy. However Article 11 of the Constitution recognizes the right to freedom from degrading treatment and the law on civil wrongs or torts recognizes a right of privacy and protection of dignity. Consequently sexual harassment too can be seen as an infringement of the right to bodily integrity which is grave enough to be criminalized and also prevented by self regulatory codes of ethics and conduct, especially when it occurs as it does in Sri Lanka on public transport and in work places. Sexual harassment can cause psychological stress and trauma, and create a hostile work environment and inhibit access to public spaces. It has been perceived in other jurisdictions, including South Asia, and in international standards, as a violation of the human right to equality and nondiscrimination. This in itself can impact on reproductive and sexual health, and the right to experience wellbeing and personal security in these important areas. (See Annex). The legal system of Sri Lanka responds to these different forms of violence in different ways. Some laws seek to create an environment of zero tolerance for some forms of violence, but do not address others. The legal system’s approach to some aspects of sexual violence are outlined in the next section. 14 COMPENDIUM ON LAW, GENDER BASED VIOLENCE AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS