need to keep this offence which was already incorporated in the law and address other forms of sexual violence through a new offence of grave sexual abuse defined in S. 365 B (1). The acts of sexual violence are specified in the section as “use of genital or any other part of the human body or any instrument or any orifice or part of the body of any person.” The emphasis here too is on the coercive and non-consensual nature of the act. (S. 363 (1)(a)(b)(c) as amended 1995). In 1998 the provisions regarding evidence of absence of consent were further amended. The age of consent in this offence is also now 16 years in the case of both boys and girls, as a gender neutral offence. The law was also amended to indicate that when grave sexual abuse is committed in lawful or unlawful custody, the same concept of strict liability for custodial grave sexual abuse applies, as in custodial rape. (S. 365 B (1)(b) as amended 1998). Punishment was originally the same as for rape, though as in rape, grave sexual abuse of a minor under 16 years attracts more severe penalties. (S. 365 (B)(2)(b)). In 2006 the Penal Code was amended again to impose a lower punishment for grave sexual abuse in general (S. 365 (B)(2)(a) as amended 2006), and grave sexual abuse of a minor (S. 365 (B)(2)(b) as amended in 2006). This amendment has indicated that grave sexual abuse is considered a lesser offence than rape. Grave sexual abuse can also be considered torture and violation of the human right to freedom from torture, in Art 11 of the Constitution. However only public officials or law enforcement officers who commit an act or acts of torture in the limited circumstances specified can be prosecuted under the separate Torture Act which criminalises torture. (Torture Act 1994 S. 12). We shall see that grave sexual abuse will also amount to Domestic Violence under the Domestic Violence Act 2005. (See Annex Constitution and Torture and section on Domestic Violence Act). g. Incest Incest was not a criminal offence in the English Common law, and was dealt with only in marriage laws that prohibited persons in certain relationships marrying each other. Consequently the nineteenth century colonial Penal Code of Sri Lanka based on the Indian Penal Code did not recognize that incest was a criminal offence. Incest was considered an offence only in marriage laws which detailed the prohibited degrees of marriage. Incest became a grave Penal Code offence only after the amendment of 1995. (See Annex). Incest is a form of Gender Based Violence as it involves abuse of relations of power within the family and extended family. The concept of consent to sexual intercourse in these relationships is therefore not recognised in the Penal Code as in the case of statutory rape or sexual abuse of persons who cannot express consent with autonomy and freedom. It is therefore considered coerced sex that infringes a woman’s reproductive and sexual rights which are also linked to her right to bodily integrity, non-discrimination on the ground of sex, and dignity. S. 364 A (1) as newly drafted in 1995 considers sexual intercourse between persons whose relationships are set out in the section, as the criminal offence of incest. The focus is on the biological relationships by “full or half blood,” and adoptive relationships, and the relationship of children or spouses through marriage or adoption, irrespective of the legality of the marriage or adoption. The punishment imposed in S. 364 (A)(3) is the same as for rape. The written sanction of the Attorney General the State prosecutor is required for a prosecution (S. 364 (A)(4)) reflecting an attitude of caution in situations where clear evidence is required to prove the sexual relationship between the relatives alleged to have committed incest. There is anecdotal evidence from a lawyer in Ratnapura that the expressions “full or half-blood” in 18 COMPENDIUM ON LAW, GENDER BASED VIOLENCE AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS