Final Evaluation: Every Woman Counts (Sri Lanka)

Location: Colombo, Gampaha, Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka

Grantee partner: Stand Up Movement Lanka (SUML) Sri Lanka

Grant period: June 2021 – September 2024

Grant amount: $150,000

Authors/editors: Indrani Rajendran

Evaluation year: 2025

Between 2021 and 2024, Stand Up Movement Lanka (SUML), with the support of the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women, implemented Every Woman Counts - a three-year initiative designed to empower Female Sex Workers (FSW) and strengthen accountability among service providers. The main objectives were to enable duty bearers to deliver inclusive, rights-based services that respond to the lived realities of FSWs, and to empower FSWs to access safe, adequate, and multi-sectoral support in cases of violence.

Key findings

• 80% of trained reported feeling more confident in accessing health and legal services compared to before the initiative.
• 40% of FSWs reported engaged in grassroot support groups formed, an unplanned but significant outcome, where they share information, offer mutual support and initiate collective savings. Focus group discussion revealed that these networks continue to thrive, providing emotional, legal, and practical support beyond the initiative’s duration.
• 200 duty bearers gained information on socioeconomic status, rights and service needs of FSWs through sensitization sessions, legal dialogues and cross-sectoral engagement.
• A participatory database was developed to reflect the rights and service needs of FSWs, and a mobile safety app (WAVEs) was shared with participants facilitate access to emergency support and trusted service providers.

“We are not alone anymore. If something happens to one of us, we all help. If there is a problem with the police or at home, we now know who to call.” – Focus group discussion, Gampaha