Video: Govt official in Jaffna admits receiving hundreds of reports of sexual violence, denies military involvement

Sri Lanka’s long-running conflict was brutal for its women. More than 80,000 are said to have been widowed in war-affected areas of the island nation.

The peace that came with the end of the civil war has brought little discernible improvement to their lives.

The situation is especially bad for young women, who told Al Jazeera about rapes and sexual exploitation – in some cases by government officials and the military.

“In one specific example that’s before the courts, one women alleges that she was held down and forcibly gang raped by several soldiers