Nearly 1,000 people from Batticaloa district attended the two-and-a-half-hour cultural show held on October 9 2004, despite prevailing tension in the war-ravaged area.

The majority of people were women who made their way from far-flung areas not under the control of the Sri Lankan government but administered by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Violence against women is rampant in this eastern region which now has a large number of women-headed households owing to the 20-year-long war.

It was the efforts of women from many partner organisations of Oxfam GB and the District Action Group that made their presence possible. Most of the women braved long travel and formidable surveillance at the checkpoints of the government controlled area.

"I came because I believe in the cause," said a 56-year-old lady. "As most of us have either suffered domestic violence or witnessed it we understand the importance of the campaign.”

A drama troupe, Padinigal Cultural Group, presented plays and songs along with a budding vocalist Janani and her group called Anjali. The plays presented by the drama troupe of Surya Women's Development Foundation moved the crowd. In one play, the actors stood in a circle and took turns playing a survivor of violence. It brought out the horror of physical, sexual, emotional and other forms of violence that women suffer. The other play was about women suffering at the hands of their own family.

"I lost my husband at the age of 36,'' said one 58- year-old woman. ”A lot of men approached me. They were not concerned about my hardships but only wanted to be physically satisfied.''

This was the first time she shared her experience with her son and the people around her. "I realised the time had come to speak out. Earlier I did not like talking about this but after seeing these plays I felt like sharing my experience with others,'' she said.

The campaign in the district has already begun making a huge impact. A number of people are aware of the campaign and also of the media coverage it has elicited.

Two popular television stations and two radio stations that air Tamil programmes in the Tamil-speaking north and eastern parts of the country have widely covered the launch and given it repeated attention. Sri Lanka's largest circulated Tamil daily Veerakesari covered the launch both at the national and district level. Eelainatham, a daily newspaper, popular in the areas controlled by the LTTE, had a double column report about the scheduled cultural show and also details of the campaign.