salient features of gender-based violence and highlights of related policies in the Philippines

1. GENDER-BASED
VIOLENCE

2. What is
Gender-Based Violence (GBV)?
“…Any act of gender-based violence which
results in, or is likely to result in physical, sexual,
or psychological harm or suffering to women,
including threats of such act, coercion or arbitrary
deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public
or private life…”
UN Declaration on the Elimination of VAW,
Article I, 1993

3. What is
Gender-Based Violence (GBV)?
◦ Violence against Women (VAW) or “gender-based
violence” because the violence partly stems from
women’s subordinate status in society
◦ A persistent and universal problem occurring in every
culture and social group
◦ The most pervasive yet least recognized human rights
abuse in the world
◦ One in every three women has been beaten, coerced
into sex, or abused in her lifetime – most often by
someone she knows, including a member of her own
family, an employer or a co-worker

4. Types of GBV
1. Physical Violence: domestic violence or battering
including beating, punching, kicking, biting, burning,
strangulation
2. Sexual Violence: rape and marital rape,
unwanted sexual comments or advances, child
sexual abuse or abuse of female children in the
household, inappropriate touching, sexual violence
or rape as a weapon of war and torture
3. Emotional Violence: verbal abuse including cursing,
belittling, rejection; confinement or restriction of
movement; isolation of the woman from her friends

5. Types of GBV
4. Socio-Economic Abuse: deprivation of the woman of
the economic resources to create dependency and
submissiveness; denial of access to education,
health assistance or paid work; prevention of the
woman’s exercise of her civil, social, economic,
cultural and political rights; public or private hostility
to homosexuals, transsexuals
5. Harmful Traditional Practices: female genital
mutilation, early or child marriage, arranged or
forced marriage, honor killing, infanticide, denial of
education for girls or women

6. When or Where GBV Happens 1
◦ In the family
▫ Most widespread type of GBV
▫ Perpetrator is usually known to the victim
▫ Examples: spousal beatings; marital rape; forced
marriage; sexual abuse of a girl by a father, uncle, or
stepfather; and verbal abuse and trauma related to
“dowry” and “not giving birth to a son”

7. When or Where GBV Happens 2
◦ Within the general community
▫ Perpetrator may be unrelated to the woman
▫ Examples: sexual harassment and intimidation at
work, in schools and offices; catcalls, wolf whistles,
leering, mooning, obscene comments, homophobic
slurs, groping; trafficking in women and forced
prostitution

8. Rape Culture
◦ an environment in which rape is prevalent and sexual
violence against women is normalized and excused in
the media and popular culture
◦ perpetuated through misogynistic language,
objectification of women’s bodies, and glamorization of
sexual violence, thereby creating a society that
disregards women’s rights and safety

9. Examples of Rape Culture
◦ Blaming the victim (“She asked for it!”)
◦ Trivializing sexual assault (“Boys will be boys!”)
◦ Sexually explicit jokes
◦ Tolerance of sexual harassment
◦ Inflating false rape report statistics
◦ Public scrutiny of a victim’s dress, mental state, motives
and history
◦ Unnecessary gendered violence in movies and
television
◦ Pressure on men to “score”

10. Examples of Rape Culture
◦ Pressure on women to not appear “suplada” or “pakipot”
◦ Assuming only promiscuous women get raped
◦ Assuming that men don’t get raped or that only “weak”
men get raped
◦ Refusing to take rape accusations seriously
◦ Teaching women to avoid getting raped instead of
teaching men not to rape
◦ Defining “manhood” as dominant and sexually
aggressive
◦ Defining “womanhood” as submissive and sexually
passive

11. Culture/Tradition as Source of GBV
◦ Indigenous women often face double discrimination: as
indigenous and as women
◦ As women: lack of participation in decision-making
processes, lack of control over income to sustain
themselves and their families, lack of land rights, lack of
access to education
◦ As indigenous: harmful traditional practices such as
female genital mutilation, dowry, forced marriage, child
brides, honor killings, girl infanticide; and rape in
situations of armed conflicts and militarization

12. When or Where GBV Happens 3
◦ Perpetrated or condoned by the State
▫ Violations condoned and committed by individuals
associated with the government (police, prison
guards, refugee camp guards, border officials, and
even peacekeeping troops).
▫ Systematic rape and sexual violence as a tool of war
in many conflict-torn regions around the world

13. Extent of GBV in the Philippines
◦ One in five women has experienced physical GBV
since age 15
◦ One in 25 women’s first sexual intercourse was “forced”
◦ The most common case of GBV is wife battering,
followed by rape and acts of lasciviousness
◦ Half of battered women believe their husbands were
justified
◦ 4 of 100 women experienced physical violence during
pregnancy

14. Extent of GBV in the Philippines
◦ 8% of women experienced marital rape (sex without
consent)
◦ Majority of victims did not report their experience of
abuse to the authorities; only 9% went to the police
◦ 34% of women in two QC barangays experienced
groping or flashing
◦ 8 out of 10 Filipino children are at risk of being victims
of online sexual abuse or bullying (UNICEF)
◦ Girl victims of abuse outnumber boys, two to one
Sources: National Demographic and Health Survey 2008, Philippine
Commission on Women

15. Roots of the Problem
◦ Certain societal beliefs (socialization)
▫ That men are superior and warriors
▫ That women are weak and followers
◦ The condonation of GBV in history
▫ More than 2,000 years ago, Roman law gave
a man life and death authority over his wife.
▫ In the 18th Century, English common law
gave a man permission to discipline his wife
and children with a stick or whip no wider than
his thumb.
◦ The pervasiveness of violence
◦ GBV as a “power game” (economic dominance)

16. Understanding the Issue:
Myth or Fact?
◦ It’s a family affair, a private matter: no one’s
business but the family’s.
◦ Men can’t control their anger. VAWC is just a
momentary loss of temper .
◦ GBV is an issue that only concerns women
◦ She was asking for it. Women provoke the
violence from their husbands by nagging and
being demanding.

17. Understanding the Issue:
Myth or Fact?
◦ Husbands have the right to do what they want
to their wives; parents have the same right
over their children.
◦ Battered women enjoy it. Otherwise, why
don’t they leave their partners?
◦ Wife beaters are abusive because of alcohol
or drugs.
◦ Domestic violence only occurs in urban or
rural poor households.

18. Laws against GBV
◦ Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995 (RA 7877):
declared sexual harassment unlawful in the work,
education or training environment
◦ Anti-Rape Law of 1997 (RA 8353): expanded the
definition of rape and reclassified it as a crime against
persons, not a crime against chastity
◦ Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 (RA 9208):
included the recruitment and movement of persons,
with or without their consent, for prostitution and forced
labor; covers the sale of organs

19. Laws against GBV
◦ Anti-Violence against Women and Children (RA 9262):
▫ Classifies VAWC as a public crime
▫ Applies to present and past relationships (whether
husband or live-in boyfriend), dating relationships
and lesbian relationships
▫ Mandates the local government’s provision of
temporary shelter, counselling, rehabilitation,
medical and livelihood assistance
▫ Provides the relief of a protection order to prevent
further acts of violence on the victim and her
children

20. Kinds of Protections Orders
◦ Barangay Protecton Order – 15 days; not
extendible
◦ Temporary Protection Order – 30 days (shall
be renewed by court)
◦ Permanent Protection Order

21. SEXUAL HARASSMENT
AND OTHER FORMS OF
SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN
PUBLIC SPACES

22. Sexual Harassment in Public Spaces
◦ Form of gender-based violence in streets, in parks,
plazas, schools, work places, and public transportation
which limits the victim’s mobility or threatens his/her
security
◦ Committed by an employer, supervisor, teacher, coach,
trainor, or any other person who, having authority,
influence or moral ascendancy over another, demands,
requests or requires any sexual favor from the other,
regardless of whether the demand, request or
requirement for submission is accepted by the victim

23. Examples
◦ Catcalls, wolf whistles and other animal sounds
◦ Leering
◦ Mooning (exposing one’s buttocks)
◦ Sexual names and obscene comments
◦ Homophobic slurs
◦ Following
◦ Groping
◦ Public masturbation
◦ Repeated requests for your phone number or name
after you’ve clearly said “no”

24. Extent
◦ 65% of women have experiences street harassment at
some point in their lives;
◦ 57% experienced verbal harassment;
◦ 41% experienced physical harassment like flashing or
groping;
◦ 23% have been sexually touched;
◦ 20% have been followed;
◦ 14% had been flashed; and
◦ 9% have been forced to do something sexual

25. Effects
◦ Limits the victim’s access to spaces by making her feel
unsafe to go to certain places or locations at certain
times of the day or night
◦ Keeps women and girls on guard and off the streets, or
dependent on a male relative—father, brother, uncle,
cousin—as escort

26. Effects
◦ Disempowers women and exerts pressure on them to
interact with men in a certain way, or to be receptive to
every advance made toward them
◦ Victims have needed to change hobbies and habits,
routes and routines; to avoid certain bus stops, streets
or stores; to miss out on night events, and even to
move or change jobs

27. Sexual Harassment in Schools
◦ Facilitated by an unequal relationship -- or
relationship of ascendancy -- between teacher as
superior and student as and inferior
◦ The teacher’s “power” over the latter by virtue of
grades, merits, scholarships and the like
◦ The doctrine of in loco parentis
◦ Illegal; not “mediatable” or negotiable (RA7877)

28. Legal Recourse and Sanctions
◦ Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995
(RA7877) and its Implementing Rules and
Regulations
◦ Administrative Disciplinary Rules on
Sexual Harassment Cases (CSC
Resolution No. 01‐0940, May 2001)
◦ CHED Memorandum Order 1, s. 2015

29. CSC Resolution 01-0940, May 2001
◦ Scope of SH
◦ Composition and responsibilities of the
CODI
◦ SOPs of the CODI
◦ Classification of offenses (grave, less
grave and light) and corresponding
penalties
◦ Distinction between administrative and
criminal complaint

30. CHED Memorandum Order (CMO) No.
01, Series of 2015: “Law” against
Sexual Harassment on Campus
◦ Applicability: ALL HEIs
◦ Scope: Ensure that all the necessary policies and
mechanisms are in place to prevent and punish sexual
harassment and other related sexual offenses.
◦ Bases: Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995 (RA No.
7877), Civil Service Commission (CSC) Memorandum
Circular No. 17 (23 July 2001), Department of Labor
and Employment (DOLE) Administrative Order No. 250
(21 June 1995), Anti-Rape Law of 1997 and the Rape
Victim Assistance Law of 1998

31. Expanded definition to include peers and students
harassing teachers:
◦ Those having authority, influence or moral
ascendancy over another in any aspect of academic
or administrative work, such as an officer, faculty
member, employee, coach or trainer;
◦ Those in peer relationships; and
◦ Students harassing faculty members or employees.
CMO 01, s. 2015 on the Prevention of
Sexual Harassment on Campus

32. Expanded definition to include to include on- and off-
campus incidences:
◦ within the school
◦ in any place where the parties were found as a result of
education or training responsibilities (social function,
official business outside the school, school-related travel)
◦ at official conferences or training sessions
◦ by telephone, cellular phone, fax machine, electronic mail
or social media
CMO 01, s. 2015 on the Prevention of
Sexual Harassment on Campus

33. Mandates the creation of the Committee on Decorum
and Investigation (CODI)
◦ Functions
▫ Receive and investigate complaints
▫ Submit a report of findings to the disciplining authority
for decision
▫ Provide assistance to complainants/victims
▫ Lead in the awareness building on sexual harassment
on campus
◦ Composition
▫ one representative each from administration, non-
teaching personnel, faculty, students upon selection
by the disciplining authority
CMO 01, s. 2015 on the Prevention of
Sexual Harassment on Campus