Senior lecturer Upul Shantha Sannasgala has slammed a group of Police officers and a YouTube channel over its coverage of the arrest of a group of women following a raid on a brothel recently.
Video footage published on the YouTube channel shows the Police officers revealing the identity of the arrested women by showing their faces and directing them to be filmed by a videographer at the site.
Commenting on the video that has been published online by the YouTube channel, Sannasgala condemned it, calling on authorities to inquire in this regard and initiate action against the Police officers and others involved in the incident, as it is a violation of the human rights of the arrested women.
Also commenting on the incident, Parliamentarian Dr. Harini Amarasuriya condemned the actions of the Police officers and the videographer of the YouTube channel.
“Recently, Upul Shantha Sannasgala had posted a video where he spoke about a youtube channel’s insensitive coverage of a police raid on a brothel. Depiction of brothels, sex workers, extramarital affairs, romantic relationships in this sensationalist way is very common within our media,” she said, issuing a statement.
Pointing out that it reflects deeply ingrained misogynistic attitudes in our society that are mobilized at a moment’s notice, Dr. Amarasuriya said we are a deeply hypocritical society when it comes to matters of sex and sexuality.
“It is this same society that enjoys Amarasiri Peris’s song Landune, engages in deep cultural analysis of the significance of the song and turns around the next moment and insults and humiliates women,” she said.
The Parliamentarian said the lives of women who engage in sex work are far from romantic or straightforward, adding that there is usually a history of abuse and exploitation – including by law enforcement officials and institutions.
“Till we confront these double standards and hypocrisy in our society – evident in all sections of society – can we claim that we have progressed or evolved even an inch from our basest instincts?” she further questioned. (NewsWire)