Butterfly Effects: Women and Criminal Law

Authors

Pavithra RajendranFollow

Abstract

Through a comparative analysis of the criminal laws of Sri Lanka and the United States, this paper examines how Sri Lanka’s legal framework on sexual offenses often hinders women’s access to justice and reinforces systemic gender discrimination. Recognizing the structural constraints inherited from older common law traditions, it underscores the potential for reform through targeted, gradual changes, drawing on developments in modern common law in the United States and relevant international legal standards. The discussion unfolds in three parts: first, a feminist critique of exiting criminal laws in postcolonial; common law systems such as Sri Lanka’s; second, a comparative analysis of laws on sexual offenses and related legal frameworks in Sri Lanka and the United States; and third, a set of reform-oriented recommendations for Sri Lanka, informed by United States legal practice and international laws.

First Page

1

Recommended Citation

Pavithra Rajendran, Butterfly Effects: Women and Criminal Law, 34 Wash. Int’l L.J. 1 (2025).
Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wilj/vol34/iss2/1