A significant feature of post war Sri Lanka is the increase in Women Headed Households WHH). According to the most recent Household and Income Expenditure Survey (2012/13), 1.2 million households (23 percent) of the households in Sri Lanka are WHH. Currently, there are 58,121 WHH in the Northern Province alone. To address the needs of WHH, the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) in collaboration with the UN Gender Theme Group, and the technical support of UNFPA is developing a national initiative to address multiple and overlapping needs of WHH.
Cabinet Paper - “National Plan for Women Headed Households"
The UNFPA on behalf of the UN Gender Theme Group, developed a programme in 2015 to provide for an opportunity of a collaborated effort with the contributions of all stakeholders, GoSL, I/NGOs and civil society to address the vulnerabilities of WHH. A gap analysis of immediate needs and existing services for WHH was conducted in collaboration with the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR) and was used to further strengthen the programme design and Cabinet paper. The Ministry of Women and Child Affairs (MoWCA) developed and submitted a Cabinet paper (No. 16/1991/740/010) titled “National Plan for Women Headed Households” in September 2016.
This paper was approved by the Cabinet in October 2016. The Cabinet paper sought permission for the following to formulate a three year national plan with Ministries and institutions relevant to the 6 sectors: of health and psychosocial support, livelihood development, support services systems, protection, social security and national level policy formulation and awareness raising.
Implementation Process
Health and psychosocial support
The Ministry of Health (MoH) in coordination with the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs (MoWCA) is undertaking a mapping of all existing health services in each district, in order to understand the available services and gaps. MoWCA’s existing database of WHH families within each district, will contribute to this process.
Livelihoods development and food security
The Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) is currently ensuring that WHH engaged in farming are provided with insurance coverages. Known as the ‘Kethata Aruna’ insurance compensation scheme, this would provide financial support for WHH to engage in farming for livelihoods as well as compensations to WHH dependents (i.e. Children and elderly).
Support services
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ), Ministry of Land and Parliamentary Affairs (MoL) are currently conducting a mapping of WHH through the ‘Bim Saviya’ land titling programme, which would provide a definitive percentage of WHH with clear land titles.
A mobile land titling clinic will be established in every Grama Niladari Division. The Ministry of Social Empowerment and Welfare (MSEW) and Ministry of Women and Child Affairs (MoWCA) are conducting an assessment of available services / care facilities for elderly dependents of WHH. In addition, divisional level staff/field officers are provided trainings to address the specific needs of these elderly dependents.
Personal Security: The Ministry of Women and Child Affairs (MoWCA) is conducting a comprehensive research to identify root causes and contributory factors of SGBV against WHH. The research is conducted with reference to the SGBV National Action Plan to gauge information on incidents of SGBV against WHH and their children.
Social protection
The Ministry of Women and Child Affairs (MoWCA) is currently coordinating with District Secretariat Offices across the country to identify vulnerable families including WHH and their dependents. These findings will feed into a database of vulnerable WHH at the Grama Niladhari level based on age/ dependents/income/education/living arrangements. As identified by the above programme, the number of WHH already receiving allowances through Samurdhi and PAMA will be noted, while preference will be given to the WHH families that are left behind.
The Ministry of Women and Child Affairs (MoWCA) in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) will launch the National Action Plan on Women Headed Households (2018-2020) prior to the end of this year (2017).
Progress and current status
Six sectoral meetings (1. health and psychosocial support, 2. livelihood development, 3. support services systems, 4. protection, 5. social security and 6. national level policy formulation) were conducted with the participation of 17 key ministries and stakeholder organisations.
Field-level stakeholder consultations were held in the Mullaithivu, Kilinochchi, Puttalam, Trincomalee and Jaffna districts with the participation of state personnel, NGOs, civil society and women’s societies. These consultations provided a more comprehensive situation analysis of WHH in the North and East.
High-level meetings were also conducted, and a number of outcomes were outlined with key ministries that attended the initial sectoral consultations.
Key ministries involved: Ministry of Rural Economy; Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources; Ministry of Agriculture; Ministry of Land and Parliamentary Affairs; Ministry of Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs; Ministry of Social Empowerment and Welfare; Ministry of Law and Order and Southern Development; Ministry of Policy Planning and Economic Affairs.
Key sectors within the action Plan
The following sectors catering to WHH needs are addressed:
1). Health and psychosocial services: By supporting the current work of the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Family Health Bureau (FHB) and by strengthening the coordinating capacity between MoH, Ministry of Women and Child Affairs (MoWCA) and the Family Planning Association of Sri Lanka (FPA), this will support WHHs full and equal access to comprehensive, high-quality and affordable physical and mental health care, psychosocial support, nutrition education and services throughout their life cycle.
2) Livelihoods development and food security: This component intends to build on current and former livelihood assistance programmes carried out by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MoWCA), Ministry of Agriculture, The Ministry of Economic Development (MED), various UN agencies and other development partners.
This intervention area aims to effectively empower WHHs by enabling them to establish sustainable, long-term employment recognising the diversity of skills, assets and vulnerable circumstance of WHHs, such livelihoods interventions have built-in safety nets that will help WHHs move out of poverty.
3) Support services: WHHs often carry a double-burden: balancing productive and paid labour with unpaid care work. WHHs responsibilities pertaining to care work often impede their engagement in stable employment, and contribute to worsening financial conditions. To address the double-burden carried by WHHs, this component aims to build on current and former support services relating to affordable housing, childcare, mental health care and other services carried out by the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs (MoWCA), Ministry of Justice (MoJ), and the Department of Probation and Childcare Services.
4) Personal Security: The fear of violence and intimidation further restricts women’s movement and impedes upon their education and livelihood activities. The aim of this component is to address the systematic repression of women’s rights and SGBV issues pertaining particularly to WHHs by supporting the ongoing work of the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs (MoWCA) and other CSOs.
5) Social Protection: WHHs face multiple constraints and barriers that can limit opportunities available to them and further push them into pervasive poverty and physical insecurity.
Addressing gendered forms of vulnerability across the life cycle of WHHs can lead to gains in gender equity, poverty reduction and human development, which is crucial for unlocking economic potential for pro-poor growth.
The proposed programme intends to build on current and former social protection mechanisms carried out by the Ministry of Social Empowerment, Welfare and Kandyan Heritage (MSEW), the Samurdhi Authority and the Department of Pensions.
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