aldric de ocampo,
UPIS Holds Forum on Sexual Harassment
Prof. Bernadette Villanueva Neri (left) holds her certificate of appreciation with Prof. Brenson Andres (right) after her lecture on sexual harassment. Photo credit: Joy Asuncion
What is sexual harassment?
Section 5 of the UP Anti-Sexual Harassment Code of 2017 (UP ASH Code) states that sexual harassment occurs when an authority figure or peer either: asks, commands, or wishes for sexual favors in exchange for something, with or without consent. However, when you ask other people what sexual harassment is, they can’t seem to pinpoint its scope and definition.
With the goal of raising awareness of sexual harassment among UPIS students, a forum was held at the UPIS 7-12 Auditorium last February 28, from 12 - 1pm.
Prof. Bernadette Villanueva Neri, former coordinator of the UP Diliman Gender Office, was invited as a speaker. She talked about the nature of sexual harassment and recent statistics of cases on record.
The most recent is from the Philippine National Police (PNP) back in 2014, which stated that 24 adults and 8 children get sexually harassed each day. Prof. Neri said that this is still considered a conservative statistic, since a lot of people in the Philippines don’t report it when they are sexually harassed.
Prof. Neri also talked about policies written to protect people from sexual harassment such as RA 7877, or the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995, and the UP ASH Code.
Various students from grades 7-12 attended the forum, despite it being mainly organized for the Grade 10 students on their third quarter Social Studies course relating to gender studies. Its primary aim was to expound and deepen the discussion of the course, Prof. Brenson Andres, Grade 10 Social Studies teacher, said. Thus, Prof. Andres, in coordination with the Gender & Development Committee of UPIS, chose a topic not yet discussed in class to be presented to the students.
“Maganda yung may mga ganitong forum dito [sa UPIS] kasi relevant siya (It's good to have these kinds of forums here in UPIS because it's relevant),” said Bree Catibog, a Grade 10 student. “Relevant [siya] kasi even for us students, we have to know where to draw the line…and I think it's important for us to know na we aren't alone, especially sa hard situations (It's relevant because even for us students, we have to know where to draw the line…and I think it's important for us to know that we aren't alone, especially in hard situations).”
Prof. Neri also mentioned the Office of Anti-Sexual Harassment (OASH), who handles cases of sexual harassment in UP Diliman, during the forum. For concerns related to sexual harassment, here are its contact details:
Address - 2/F Benton Hall (beside Lagmay Hall) M. Roxas Ave., UP Diliman
Phone - 981-8500 local 2465 or 2466
Website - www.oash.upd.edu.ph
Email - oash@upd.edu.ph
Facebook - UP Diliman OASH //by Joy Asunción and Aldric de Ocampo
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