About Us
Women In Need (WIN) is a Sri Lankan non-profit addressing Gender-Based Violence (GBV) against women and girls through support, advocacy, and empowerment.
Women In Need (WIN) is a local, non-profit and non-governmental organisation dedicated to addressing issues of Gender Based Violence (GBV) faced by women and girls in Sri Lanka. WIN has come a long way since its inception in 1987 gradually and steadily increasing its services, and expanding target locations to be able to ensure the safety of women and girls thereby contributing to the creation of a violence-free society that values and respects women’s rights.
WIN is located in seven districts in the country. WIN currently has seven crisis centres, seven help desks in police stations and seven help desks in hospitals. WIN’s centres are located in Anuradhapura, Colombo, Badulla, Batticaloa, Jaffna, Ratnapura and Matara. WIN has a team of 15 lawyers and 24 counsellors, who specialise in the field of gender based violence and deal with thousands of GBV, specifically domestic violence, cases every year.
Our team is driven by the passion to strengthen and protect victims dealing with violence and abuse, ensuring strict confidentiality of identity, while also striving to ensure that the violence is not repeated, and the victims’ rights are protected.
Where We Work
Women In Need (WIN) is a nationally acclaimed non-governmental organisation in Sri Lanka providing essential support services to women and girls victimized by gender based violence. In 2018, WIN celebrated 30 years of dedication to addressing issues of violence against women in the country.
We are present in 7 Districts
- Anuradhapura – 025 2225708
- Badulla – 055 2224395
- Batticaloa – 065 2228388
- Colombo – 011 2671411
- Jaffna – 021 2229671
- Matara – 041 2233760
- Ratnapura -
WIN also has 8 police desks located in
- Police Women and Children’s Bureau – 011 3071121
- Kirulapone Police Station – 011 3071122
- Medawachchiya Police Station (Anuradhapura) – 077 7307894
- Waligama Police Station (Matara) – 077 3560282
- Batticaloa Police Station – 077 7913529
- Badulla Police Station – 077 2083319
- Puthukudurippu Police Station (Mulathivu) – 021 2061616
- Jaffna Police Station - 021 2214063
WIN’s 4 emergency shelters located in
Colombo, Matara, Anuradhapura and Batticaloa
Women In Need is present across the country, with crisis centres, help desks and shelters based in the Western, Southern, Eastern, Central, Uva, Northern, North Central and North Western Provinces.
WIN Locations
WIN currently has seven crisis centres in Colombo, Jaffna, Matara, Anuradhapura, Batticaloa, Ratnapura and Badulla. WIN help desks in police stations are based in Colombo, Anuradhapura, Badulla, Batticaloa, Jaffna, Mullaitivu and Matara.
WIN help desks in hospitals are based in Colombo, Batticaloa, Anuradhapura and Badulla. There are four shelters located in Colombo, Batticaloa, Anuradhapura and Matara. WIN’s resource centre is based in Matara. And WIN’s recycled paper project centres are in Colombo and Matara.
Why WIN?
WIN has been fighting gender based violence over the last 30 years.It has earned itself a reputation of national and international standing, working with the police, the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Justice, and other state and non-state actors, playing an enormous role in sensitising and educating people on gender based violence and its prevention. WIN has been in the forefront of advocating for changes in law and policies, and also has been contributing to many state dialogues on violence against women.
Savithri Wijesekera, the Executive Director of WIN, was appointed member of the National Police Commission of Sri Lanka in 2015, who is also the only female member in the Commission. She was also invited to be on the Leader of the Opposition’s Commission on the Prevention of Violence against Women and the Girl Child . The Commission was appointed in 2013 to make recommendations to the Leader of the Opposition on how VAW and the Girl Child can be prevented.
WIN through its experience in dealing with victims themselves and grassroots communities, was best positioned to make a number of recommendations which have been included in the final report which was presented to parliament in March 2015. Mrs. Wijesekera also represents WIN on the Law Reforms Commission under the National Committee of Women. The committee is in the process of reviewing all existing laws that impact women and girls, in order to make recommendations for positive change towards them in terms of employment, discrimination, and violence.
WIN is a member of the Advisory Committee for the National Shelter and National Helpline for Women. WIN is also a member of the National GBV Forum of Sri Lanka which is an advocacy forum to influence policy and ensure that laws and policies are implemented, to hold the state accountable for the implementation of laws, procedures and policies.
