Article 365 of the Sri Lankan Penal Code, which dates from the time of colonial British Ceylon, criminalizes sexual acts deemed "against the order of nature".

In 2016 the Government of Sri Lanka launched Gender Recognition Certificates and provided clear guidelines to medical workers on how to positively deal with the transgender community.

[17] The current legal framework of Sri Lanka,[18] mostly derives from European-Christian constructs[19] as they stood during the colonial era, and were imported into the island.

[24] Further problems with the colonial legal framework include the lack of protections and supports for the sexual minority community, including the lack of specific wording fighting discrimination against sexual minorities[25] nor the recognition of transgender and third gender concepts[26] (who have been discriminated against through the Vagrants Ordinance).

[27] The Supreme Court and the various governments of Sri Lanka have countered this situation[2] by including sexual minorities within generic anti-discrimination clauses[28] and attempting to set dormant a variety of laws, although the colonial legal code does not provide the Supreme Court with the power to create or repeal law.

[30][31][32] However, several sources, including that by the IGLA president and Sri Lankan native Sherman de Rose, state that the laws are not used to jail and prosecute LGBTQ individuals.

[42][43][44]Politicians from both sides of the political spectrum have expressed support for homosexuality and transsexuality, including the two leaders of the two major parties.

There are even some traditions that promote transgender people, although the third gender seems to have disappeared from the island, despite having roots in Sri Lankan culture.

As a result, these laws have been loosely enforced (if at all), and discrimination by police and others is often associated with corruption or attitudes towards sexual promiscuity, which also applies to heterosexuals.

In 1994, Sherman de Rose set up Companions on a Journey (CoJ), the first LGBT support group in Sri Lanka.

"[11] The Financial Times opinioned that this was the first public acknowledgement by the South Asian Head of State about everyone's right not to be discriminated on their sexuality or gender.

Article 365 of the Sri Lankan Penal Code, which dates back to 1885[1]: 34  (while it was British Ceylon), criminalizes sexual acts deemed "against the order of nature".

Further, the opinion recognised that:[32]The contemporary thinking, that consensual sex between adults should not be policed by the state nor should it be grounds for criminalisation appears to have developed over the years and may be the rationale that led to repealing of the offence of gross indecency and buggery in England.

[6] In November 2017, Deputy Solicitor General Nerin Pulle stated that the government would move to decriminalize same-sex sexual activity.

[66][8] An attempt by the government to include its repeal into the human rights action plan was prevented by opposition from the United People's Freedom Alliance.

[23] Premnath C. Dolawaththa of the nationalist Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna submitted a Private Member Bill to Parliament on 23 August 2022 aiming to repeal the colonial-era law banning same-sex sexual activity.

[73] The government of Sri Lanka claimed to the United Nations Human Rights Committee on 7–8 October 2014 that they think sexual minorities should be protected under existing generic anti-discrimination laws provided in the Constitution.

[13][75][76][25] In 2017, the Government announced they would update their Human Rights Action Plan with an addendum that bans discrimination against anyone based on his or her sexual orientation.

[6] The Sri Lankan Supreme Court handed down a judgement in the case of Officer-in-Charge, Police Station, Maradana v Wimalasiri and Jeganathan, in which sections 365 and 365A were deemed unenforceable under the constitution.

The process remains a medicalized one, but with some degree of flexibility.Although performed on occasion, gender-affirming surgery is relatively inaccessible within Sri Lanka, as many hospitals lack the highly specialised surgical units and staff.

Patients who had experienced gender-confirming treatments in Sri Lanka, reported that they could be met with ignorance, curiosity and even ridicule from medical staff.

[13] In March 2022, a bill aimed at banning conversion therapy was tabled by Samagi Jana Balawegaya MP Rohini Kumari Wijerathna.

[90] Ministry of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine has decided to establish services for transgender communities in every institution, with capacity of specialist psychiatric care (Consultant Psychiatrist).