The key objectives of The Asia Foundation project are to increase access to psychosocial support for victims of violent crime, including torture survivors, to enable them to resume their roles within family and community, and to protect individuals against further victimisation by improving their treatment within the criminal justice system.

As a part of the program, The Asia Foundation will support the design and implementation of a program of outreach to law enforcement officers and other public officials to encourage heightened sensitivity and efforts to address the needs of victims of crime. This initiative seeks to strengthen the capacity of legal aid organisations to advocate the human rights of clients, including those most vulnerable to abuse and least able to navigate the justice system. These groups include torture survivors, ethnic minorities and women.

The Asia Foundation supports programs in Asia that help improve governance, women’s empowerment, economic reform and development, as well as international relations. Drawing on more than 50 years of experience in Asia, the Foundation collaborates with private and public partners to support leadership and institutional development, exchanges, and policy research.

The recipients of the Direct Aid Program included an organisation working with estate worker families in Norwood, a sustainable water management project in Pottuvil, the provision of over 1200 pairs of spectacles to needy people in the Puttlam area and a series of training courses for disadvantaged youth around Colombo.