harassment

A Girl was Pressured to Commit Suicide. Pardon us for Banning these Bullies and Harrassers.

The following cosplayers are banned from attending Lanka Comic Con, and any of our other events. We also won’t work with any other body that has anything to do with them:

  • Kasun Maddumage aka Stefan Skywalker

  • Chamini Nisansala Aka Rachel Nyx

  • Christina Rameshi

  • Sanadi De Silva

  • Dilan Nimsara

  • Chamadhi Athapuththu

Evidence is in the link below. Be cautioned: it is very disturbing reading. It is hard to believe that there are people like this in the world. But, there are. And this is what they do.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1DUO7l1ElxuI6uUIOqrOGy8UYsRGVtt5c?usp=sharing


This wasn't friendly teasing or childish drama. They went out of their way to bully, shame, and isolate others.

Let us be perfectly clear. There is no gray area here. This was cruel, intentional abuse, and they knew exactly what they were doing.

We are keeping this post and Drive link of evidence up, to assist those gathering evidence for prosecution.

Additional Evidence:


https://web.facebook.com/100080067172099/posts/pfbid0WqtNStr3J27M9YNvFhHyrCaEyypdKfPjVJBSp7wvt9qNoLgYQj2XfrySrskPQkpGl/?app=fbl&_rdc=1&_rdr#

https://web.facebook.com/100080067172099/posts/pfbid02L8UpFj9MHCqMtKwmEovZnNLmJKoFsyAvkzrWmvGs6wVaeUnvPKATdZvf9Rgosp2Hl/?app=fbl&_rdc=1&_rdr#

https://web.facebook.com/100080067172099/posts/pfbid02ZqrhDksxbUR5vAKjyxVJaAgzAv4tBwKMo1nmXCVJXYSFbEE16xTijZbZs4A4zarnl/?app=fbl&_rdc=1&_rdr#

https://web.facebook.com/100080067172099/posts/pfbid02tfxZGSEEHpbLuHnbBiK76KnTijbQqAG5Bh4Mrrcer4R6PPXTwF44pJwpYgQp2UXjl/?_rdc=1&_rdr#

Lanka Comic Con’s Ethical Position in this Matter

Lanka Comic Con is a community built on inclusivity, creativity, and mutual respect. Over the years, we have worked tirelessly to nurture a safe, vibrant space for geeks of all forms and artists at various levels of expression. Harassment and toxic rhetoric—whether online or offline—are in direct opposition to everything we stand for.

We take a zero-tolerance stance on all forms of harassment. When individuals engage in behavior that endangers the mental health or physical safety, which destroys the dignity of self, they are not just violating community guidelines—they are breaking the fundamental unity that holds our space together.

The bans detailed in this article result from serious and substantiated behavior that has caused real harm. Even though it is a circumstance that has happened outside our spaces, we do not take such actions lightly. We would like to omit such influences from coming into our safe spaces.

Our goal is not just to protect the present well-being of our community but also to ensure that the next generation that inherits a space is kinder and more resilient.

We urge other brands and partners to join us in upholding these standards for the good of our collective future. We hope other events of parallel interest can also join this effort.

If you or someone you know has been affected by harassment in this space, please know that you are not alone. We stand with survivors, and we will always choose safety over silence.

On the Harassment of Asus Lanka Comic Con Cosplayers

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As you may know, recently there were several Facebook pages where pictures of our attending cosplayers (male and female) were shared with intent to degrade, intimidate, and bully.

This is treatment women especially are familiar with, not just after big events, but even when they leave the house to go to work. What will someone say to me today? Should I look away and say nothing? What will anyone else do - will they also look away and pretend like nothing happened?

For our part, it may seem we were asleep at the wheel when this online harassment took place. That's completely true - we haven't slept properly in days, and sleep is where we've been putting most of our spare time since the event ended. I accept that this is not an excuse, and for this I apologize for myself and my team. We should have been on this. 

However, the geek and cosplay community wasn't sleeping - and that's what I want to discuss. When these people were harassed by people who are quite literally losers, they immediately organized to report those posters and those pages. Their quick and overwhelming action led to one Facebook page being unpublished, and 5 more are now under review. The community then went one step further, setting up a page specifically to combat online harassment against other geeks. 

I cannot tell you how inspiring this is for me. How proud I am. They saw people being attacked - and they said something. They stepped up and acted. Decisive, united, action. 

We live in a time when the idea of treating people, as if they were people, is unpopular. Well for those who disagree with this, that's just too bad. As far as we can reach, we practice this.

And we will expect it. 

Thilani Samarasinha
Principal Organizer, Lanka Comic Con Trust