Frederica Jansz is a Sri Lankan journalist and former editor of The Sunday Leader. Jansz began her career as a war reporter for Visnews, the television arm of Reuters, during the Sri Lankan Civil War. For over two decades, she conducted interviews with government soldiers and guerilla forces and served as an investigative journalist covering the Sri Lankan ethnic war and the Sri Lankan parliament. At the time, as one of the few female journalists in Sri Lanka, she established herself as a respected political and investigative reporter and became the anchor of a morning and late-night television show.
She joined The Sunday Leader, which has been described as a “politically fueled investigative newspaper” and as Sri Lanka’s “lone independent voice,” in 1994. She was subsequently asked by Lal Wickrematunge to become its editor in January 2009, following the assassination of editor-in-chief Lasantha Wickrematunge, under whom she had trained.
During her 24-year long career as a journalist, Jansz worked extensively with journalists in Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Afghanistan including being a part of safety training workshops for journalists working in these conflict and battle zone areas, during her tenure as a journalist and as South Asia Coordinator for International News Safety Institute (INSI).
Jansz has additionally interacted consistently with politicians, members of the diplomatic corps, the military, media and human rights activists during her diverse career, as a journalist, researcher, and expert witness on asylum and immigration for the courts in the US and UK.
Her diverse career achievements and experiences have translated to a passion for social justice, equity, and anti-racism. She has been seen as an expert on media freedoms and an advocate working against violence and persecution. She has a depth of understanding of social issues in South Asia.
Addiction/drugs/drug policy, Caste discrimination or persecution, Child soldiers, Climate-related issues, Deportees/criminal deportees, Ethnic discrimination or persecution, Ex-combatant reintegration, Forced conscription, Forced marriage, Gang-related violence/non-state actors, Gender-based violence/domestic violence, HIV/AIDS, Journalist persecution, LGBTQ, Likelihood of destitution or homelessness, Mental illness, Military/police service, Political persecution, Prison conditions, Religious discrimination or persecution, Government/state actor persecution, Risk of retaliation, Safe internal relocation, Sexual abuse/assault, Sufficiency of protection, Torture, Trafficking, Tribal discrimination or persecution, Violence against children/child abuse
I have been recognized as an expert witness on Sri Lanka and Pakistan since 2015. I have completed a few hundred cases in the UK, half a dozen in the US, a couple in Canada. Many of these cases involved asylees fleeing from political or religious persecution, homophobia and sexual discrimination. Additionally, I have worked on cases involving human trafficking, domestic violence, child soldiers and terrorism.
The Consequences of Another War in Sri Lanka: February 27-May 5th 2006. By Frederica Jansz.