No harassment of female MPs: Speaker

26 January 2016 10:12 am

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya said today there was no truth about female parliamentarians being subjected to any kind of sexual or other harassment in Parliament as claimed.

“On the basis of media reports, I conducted a fact-finding inquiry into the allegation, but I have found nothing, so I can confirm that no such harassment has taken place in this Parliament,” the Speaker said.

He said that he and his officials inquired from female parliamentarians whether they had faced any kind of harassment as claimed, but the female MPs had confirmed that they had never been subjected to any harassment.

However, the Speaker said he would not hesitate to take tough action against any kind of sexual harassment in Parliament now or in the future.

Earlier, in the wake of reports, the Speaker requested female parliamentarians to inform him if they had ever been subjected to any kind of sexual or other harassment.