Sarah Soysa:Championing youth and women’s rights in Sri Lanka

AustraliaAwards alumnus Sarah Soysa has spearheaded significant changes in sexual and reproductive health rights for women, girls and young people in vulnerable communities in Sri Lanka. As a feminist, she is passionate about raising awareness through advocacy campaigns on Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE), and to eventually create an open dialogue on issues faced by women.

Sarah first became aware of disparities in perceptions on gender equality when volunteering at Sri Lanka’s Family Planning Association in 2008. This sparked her passion for promoting youth and women’s rights. Sarah then went on to complete a Bachelor of Social Work at the National Institute of Social Development in Sri Lanka. After graduation, she began working at the grassroots level with the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) in 2012. In this role she was exposed to the numerous issues faced by young girls in vulnerable communities in northern Sri Lanka, in the aftermath of the country’s conflict.

This experience paved the way towards a Master of Gender and Development Studies at the University of Melbourne in 2015, which she undertook through an Australian Government Australia Awards Scholarship:

“Not only did I gain substantial knowledge on gender and development during my studies in Australia, but also expertise on civil society, policy advocacy and project management, which [I was able to] put into practice in post-war areas and the tea plantation sector for two years, connecting directly at the policy and advocacy level.”

While studying in Australia, she took on the role of Research Assistant at the University of Melbourne’s YouthEducation division and worked as a Teaching Assistant at the University of Melbourne and Royal Melbourne Children’s Hospital. This translated into her first-hand experience of gender, sexual and reproductive health rights in Australia.

“On a personal note, I have gained many friends from various countries and cultures. We also meet each other whenI travel, and they visit Sri Lanka too. They continue to support me with my work and in building connections for me when needed. I also have several professors and global advocates working on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and development who are supporting me with my work at the national and global level.”

Upon her return to Sri Lanka in2015, Sarah began work with Doctors of the World, focusing on improving SRHR information and services for women and young people in the plantation sector and post-war areas. Sarah has a great enthusiasm for fieldwork and was awarded an innovation grant through Australia Awards to further her work in this important field.

Currently, as the NationalProgramme Analyst for SRHR at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in SriLanka, Sarah is responsible for the organisation’s SRHR and ComprehensiveSexuality Education (CSE) agenda. Working closely with the Ministry of Health,Ministry of Education, and Ministry of Skills Development and VocationalTraining, she works on SRHR-related policy advocacy, improving access to CSEand family planning, and addressing issues around gender-based violence in SriLanka.

Since becoming a young leader,Sarah is proud to have spear headed a program that trains teachers and creates a dialogue among parents and teachers in Northern and Central provinces on CSE, with the support of provincial councils. She has also received a total of seven grants to continue her work on SRHR, involving training youth advocates on SRHRand gender at the Youth Advocacy Network, an organisation which she co-founded.

Sarah is also a member of the Asia Safe Abortion Partnership, the Commonwealth Youth and Gender Equality Network, and FRIDA - The Young Feminist Fund. In addition, she is a core member of the Women Deliver initiative: ‘Generation now – our health and rights partnership between International AIDS Society and Women Deliver.’ 

“My experience in Australia-exposed me to a different way of working. Evidence-based policy making and evidence project design is something I learned, and I use that approach when planning and implementing my work both at the program and policy advocacy level. I learned to look at issues through various lenses, and that has helped me to comfortably work with different types of communities and improve my negotiation skills, even when dealing with controversial subjects like gender-based violence, unsafe abortion and sexual and reproductive health.”

“I have become a more adventurous person since my experience in Australia. I have become very independent and feel confident both professionally and personally - for that, I am grateful.”