Deputy Minister of Women's Affairs Vijayakala Maheswaran stated that during the LTTE rule, women and girls in the north felt extremely secure and could go out of their homes even in the middle of the night without any threat.

Taking part in the ‘Satana’ political talk show last night on ‘Sirasa TV’, Maheswaran said that the former government prevented many incidents of violence against women from being reported. The new government has not imposed such a censorship, and therefore the rape and murder of Sivaloganathan Vithiya became public knowledge, she added.

The police was powerless during that time as the north was under military rule during the former government, she stated. Even though the north is under civilian rule now, the police are still not used to working in the north and show signs of inefficiency, Maheswaran also argued.