TOPIC: Impact of Women’s Movement in Public Policy Against Sexual

Harassment in the Philippines

- 8-12 references

DEFINITION (PSA): Any unwanted or uninvited sexual attention that creates an intimidating,
hostile or offensive environment in the school or workplace. It usually occurs when the harasser
is in a position of power or authority over the woman victim. It can also occur in the streets and
public places when men ogle, whistle, or make obscene or degrading remarks and gestures
directed at women and young girls.

A. Background of the Study

● Discussion -> Problem -> Why are we talking about this?
● Brief (not more than 2 pages)
A. Statement of the Problem
● Articulation of the problem you wish to study
● Why the topic needs to be studied?
● Research Question
● Match the statement of the problem
● Capture the main inquiry of the study
A. Significance of the Study
● Why?
● Argument of the potential contribution of the study (to policy and knowledge)
● What can we learn from this paper?
A. Scope and Limitations
● Answers what, when, where, how of the study
 A Study on the Impact of Women’s Movement in Public Policy
On Violence Against Women in the Philippines
Murillo, Ariana Rae F. & Santiago, Mikaella Zaira S.
Political Science Department, De La Salle University, 2401 Taft Avenue, Manila 1004

INTRODUCTION
According to the 1987 Constitution of The Republic of The Philippines Article II
Section 14, The Philippine Constitution guarantees the fundamental equality of women
and men before the law and recognizes the role of women in nation building. However,
where men continue to dominate the political and social arenas, it becomes an ongoing
struggle for women to have the avenue to raise their issues and concerns to the wider
public. Sexual violence against women is often a result of assault, bullying, coercion,
discrimination, favoritism; exploitation and intimidation as vices that play out in the
unlawful sexual encounter leaving victims with long-term pains that devastate their
psychological well-being. More often than not, issues, specifically on sexual harassment
are kept to themselves as men not being given sanctions is normalized. According to
Jessica Bartolome (2016) of GMA news, about “three in five women have experienced
sexual harassment at least once in their life.” Despite having experienced such
harassment, about 50% of the women did not file a case or report the event to authorities
due to the fear and trauma that it came with.
Victim blaming, career suicide, psychological trauma, lack of knowledge and to
be branded that the act is frivolous are some of the reasons why women often don’t come
forward to report cases of violence hence allowing the perpetrators to run free
(Mukherjee, 2014). According to the recent fact sheet of Philippine Statistics Authority
(PSA), the Philippines house 14.1M of women and to think that there are only 36,524
cases reported to the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Department of Social
Welfare and Development (DSWD); it is canny to think that there are cases wherein
women are silenced leading to the obscurity of the statistics.
Sexual harassment, in and of itself, puts people into a situation where they
become powerless and the trauma that comes with it causes them to be unable to function
normally due to the fear that it may occur again (Alporha, Evangelista & Hega, 2017). In
the Philippines where sexual harassment occurs mostly on the streets, in the form of
catcalling, gesturing, and staring, it also happens in the most prestigious industries and
even in educational institutions. The University of the Philippines-Diliman have
established their own Office of Anti-Sexual Harassment (OASH) that handles complaints
and conducts workshops. University of Santo Tomas’ Hiraya, a pioneer intersectional
feminist organization in the royal and pontifical student organization, advocates for ‘safe
spaces’ for the victims of sexual harassment.

Research Questions
Central Research Question: How have the efforts of women’s movements been Commented [1]: Qualitative

effectively pushing the Philippine government to create public policies that address
violence against women?
Supporting Research Questions:
- When did women’s movement start in the Philippines and what was the progress
since then? Commented [2]: RRL

- What role did women’s movements play in the passing of laws and legislations?
- What are the laws, legislations, and programs passed and enacted that address the
aforementioned issue?
- Even with the laws and legislations passed, what are the current challenges and
struggles women face?
Central Research Question: Commented [3]: Quantitative

As stated above, three out of five women could be sexually harassed at least once
in their lifetime and those incidences are likely to occur in public 58% of the time.
Numbers that are quite contradictory towards the Philippine Constitution’s sanctions
regarding the safety of women. The natural/biological origin of sexual harassment is
based on the good old fashion idea of attraction between two people. Men are possessed
with the bigger sex drives which cause men to aggressively approach women with sexual
comments or intentions. The battle of the sexes is used in this example of the socio-
cultural model. Women in today’s society are becoming more work force oriented
creating more opportunities and assertiveness for them to get job and take over
companies. The problem with this is, some men see this very frustrating from which can
cause anger, confusion, miscommunication and misconduct. This miscommunication can
cause men to use power to harass the female on the job.
The media and society reinforce the idea that men are dominant in our society.
Indirect this is embedding sex-role stereotypes into children all over the world. Some of
the things we see on the television sports heroes, and military leaders. It is said that men
are more aggressive and independent. Women are portrayed as passive and dependent in
children’s literature and television. The issue on parenting and what are our parents
teaching us and are not teaching us during adolescents. At a young age there are parents
warning their children about sexual and aggressive activity, but not talking about this
same type of issue with their boys. It is seen as the girls job to protect her, while boys let
their emotions and behaviors come naturally to them (Hand, Sanchez 2002) This Commented [4]: Wdym

contributed on the toxicity of reported sexual harassment cases wherein the victim is
blamed for the propertrator’s actions. With the help of this research, the idea of sexual
harassment may be widely known in the Philippines and may move more people to fight
against it. The silenced victims of sexual harassment because of the preconceived idea of
society towards sexual harassment will be given a voice.
Although there are still those that take such issues lightly and often point fingers
at the wrong people, there is a hope that the power of the authorities may be used
productively. We cannot deny the fact that sexual harassment is a global issue and in
order for it to be completely eradicated, the mass should recognize that sexual harassment
is prevalent and there is a need to dignify women hence producing a country with
individuals that has harmonious interpersonal relations with one another. The prevention
to the increasing number of sexual harassment cases requires an involvement and
implementation of uniform rules from different sectors of the government. Most
especially, the coordination of the Department of Education, Commission on Higher
Education, Department of Labor and Employment in the National Capital Region and the
National Government and various women's rights organizations’ involvement as sphere
head on implementing public policy is necessary.
The researchers will only be focusing cases on violence against women in the
Philippines. The focus of the paper will be on women’s movements alone and the
 organizations that are involved with the movements. Several articles will be studied to
discover the existing women’s movements across time and as well as the laws and
legislations that address violence against women in the Philippines. A survey will be
done by the researchers to see how the public interprets and reacts to movements against
the aforementioned cause. In-depth interviews may also be done with actual participants
of the said movements. An interview will also be done with several Local Government
Units (LGUs) to discuss the prevalence if such cases in their area and how it was
addressed. This study utilized the Descriptive Method of research in order to determine
the perception of selected students on the forms and effects of sexual harassment. The
Normative Survey method was also used to find out the normal typical condition of the
situation and the people. The chi-square test of relationship was used to determine the
level of relationship between the forms and effects of sexual harassment and the selected
variables: sex, age, religion, year level and specialization.

E. Related Literature

Outline:
I. What is violence against women, what are the forms and when does it happen
II. History of violence against women & women’s movements in other countries
III. History of violence against women & women’s movements in the PH
IV. Laws and legislations or programs
V. Women in politics (their roles)

The conceptual and research literature (studies) herein reviewed provide insights about
the factors that may contribute, prevent and/or effects of sexual harassment in our
community and society. Among broader conclusions that offer such insights are the
milestone towards sexual harassment is prevention rather than recovery. The school and
workplace are encouraged to formulate necessary actions to reduce the vulnerability for
prevention, preparedness and response of the students and laborers in this inhumane act.
 REFERENCES

Alporha, V., Evangelista, M., & Hega, M. (2017). Feminism and the Women’s Movement in the
Philippines: Struggles, Advances, and Challenges. Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.12-13. [PDF]

Bartolome, J. (2016). The Numbers are Alarming: Sexual Harassment vs. Women in PHL.
Retrieved on September 30, 2018 from
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/lifestyle/healthandwellness/558251/the-numbers-are-
alarming-sexual-harassment-vs-women-in-phl/story/

Basu, A. (Ed.). (1995). The Challenge Of Local Feminisms. New York: Routledge.
Geneva: World Health Organization; 2002. World Health Organization. World report on
violence and health.

Guanzon, R. (2008) A Parliamentary Response to Violence Against Women. Inter-

Parliamentary

Hand, J and Sanchez, L. (2002) "Badgering or Bantering?: Gender Differences in Experience Of,
and Reactions To, Sexual Harassment among U.S. High School Students." Gender and Society
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Mondiguing, R. (2017). Handling Sexual Harassment: The University of the Philippines

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content/uploads/2017/12/12.-Good-Practices-On-Eliminating-Gender-Based-Violence-
Experienced-by-Academic-Community-Philippines.pdf

Mukherjee, R (2014) Why don’t women report sexual harassment cases and what the employers
must do about it. Retrieved from https://yourstory.com/2014/03/sexual-harassment/

Philippine Statistics Authority (2016) Statistics on Women and Men in the Philippines Retrieved
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Tiongson, Nicanor. The Women of Malolos. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press,
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University Center for Women’s Studies University of the Philippines, 2001

Union. 62-70 https://www.camara.cl/camara/media/seminarios/violencia/04.pdf#page=71