One hundred Tamil and non-Tamil women attended the inaugural Women for Justiceevent at Balmain Town Hall on July 30. The meeting aimed to create awareness about, and campaign to stop, sexual abuse and human rights violations to which Tamil women have been subjected to for the past 60 years.
The abuse continues today against Tamil women in Sri Lankan military internment camps.
Linda Bartolomei from the Australian National Committee on Refugee Women and the Centre for Refugee Research expressed concern at the "epidemic proportions" of rape and sexual violence.
There were also speeches from Julie Savage, a psychologist, counsellor, supervisor and trainer from NSW Services for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors, and Tamil women who shared their personal experiences of sexual abuse and human rights violations.
More than 300,000 Tamils are being held against their will, months after the Sri Lankan government claimed victory against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. For information about Women for Justice, email womenforjustice@live.com.