Opinion: Hands, Words, Looks Off Limits
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| Photo Credit: Jem Torrecampo |
“Hey, beautiful.”
“Ang sarap naman!”
“’Sup, Shawty!”
Ever heard these phrases shouted at someone while walking down the streets? Maybe some are unfortunately oblivious to it, but this is called sexual harassment.
Sexual harassment is the act of disrespecting a person in a physical, verbal or visual manner. It ranges from catcalling and wolf whistling, to exhibitionism and groping. Some have experienced it while walking out on the streets, in the workplace, during concerts, in stores, on social networking sites, inside public transportation vehicles, and even inside one’s own home. It could happen anywhere and at any time.
Sadly, based on a 2016 study by the Social Weather Stations, in Metro Manila, 3 out of 5 women have been sexually harassed. Yet this only accounts for those who have decided to voice out their experiences with sexual harassment and report it to officials. There are many incidents which go on unshared or unreported.
Recently, several allegations of sexual misconduct have come up against local indie band members such as Samuel Valenia, guitarist and back-up vocalist of Jensen and the Flips, and Sud Ballecer, the front man of Sud. The bands Miles Experience and Ang Bandang Shirley were mentioned as well. A Twitter thread naming these various bands committing unwanted sexual advances towards fans caught wind and sparked outrage, enough for them to be removed from the line-up of previously booked gigs. Sud will no longer be expected to perform at the UP Fair on February 2018, and Jensen and the Flips was kicked out from the list of performers in the annual event of Vandals On the Wall, The Rest is Noise Year-End, along with the termination of their partnership with Coke Studio.
Earlier this November, two police officers were reported to have catcalled a woman along Katipunan Avenue and were penalized with a light violation: up to a month of jail time or a fine of 1,000 Pesos to 5,000 Pesos. If we look farther back this year, priests were also reported to have sexually assaulted a child, and when she reported this to the police and told her family about it, her family threatened and beat her.
Sadly, even President Rodrigo Duterte was accused of sexual harassment, having catcalled a reporter during a press conference, as well as kissing women without them showing clear consent during a campaign event in Taguig. He spontaneously embraced them and kissed them, while they complied due to them being his fans. He has stated that he has fully embraced his persona as a womanizer and maintains his unbecoming conduct, while the majority of Filipinos tolerate his behavior. He is also known to have done these sorts of actions in the past, before his presidency. He has stated that catcalling and calling women “beautiful” loudly in public isn’t anything that warrants sexual harassment. He has also said that not permitting him to do such restricts his freedom of speech and his love for the Filipino people.
The City of Davao has the City Ordinance 5004 and Executive Order No.24 Section 8 that defines sexual harassment as “cursing, whistling, or calling a woman in public with words having dirty connotations or implications which tend to ridicule, humiliate, or embarrass the woman such as “boring” and “peste” among others. If you don’t see what’s alarming about a president showing his “love” for his people by spontaneously kissing women, as well as not being able to follow his own laws when he was mayor of Davao, then l don’t know what else you’d find disturbing.
To victims of sexual harassment, some would say, “Why don’t you just say no?” or “Why don’t you confront them?” Others would say that the victims asked for it because of how they dress or where they were when the incident occurred, that they themselves invited sexual harassment. Most of these people don’t understand what it’s like to be in the position of a person being sexually harassed or assaulted. Most victims of sexual misconduct were reluctant to report such cases for fear of their assaulter or the possible consequences that would come from them telling the public. When victims report it, sometimes they are treated with disgust and, as aforementioned, are blamed for being harassed, while those suspect would be praised due to their machismo in this patriarchal society.
Society should be well aware that there are many cases of sexual misconduct happening inside our country, and also that it’s one of the few problems the country keeps putting up with in the streets and even in mass media. Jokes or remarks that force sexual intentions on people and make them uncomfortable are still casually tossed around in many places and mediums, as if they had a place in the norm of day to day interaction.
But this can be stopped. Start by letting people know about the various campaigns regarding sexual harassment. We can let other people and the victims know that they have laws protecting them in the workplace and on the streets. There are laws such as the Republic Act 7877 or the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995 that prohibits sexual harassment in the workplace, at school, and training environments. There are also The Anti-Catcalling Ordinance that penalizes street-level sexual harassment in Quezon City and The Davao City Ordinance 5004 and Executive Order No.24 as stated above. There is also the Republic Act 9710 or the Magna Carta for Women which extends the range of R.A. 7877 from the workplace, school, and training ground to everywhere else. Encourage victims to report their cases, not only to make others more aware, but also to empower those who are too afraid to speak up.
According to R.A. 7877, sexual harassment within the workplace warrants penalties of imprisonment from between 1 to 6 months, a fine ranging from 10,000 Pesos and 20,000 Pesos, or both. If you will report an act of sexual harassment, you may go to the women’s desk in nearby police offices. One may also call the Women and Child Protection Hotline at 436-72-11 in Quezon City, as well as refer to the Philippine Commission on Women’s Website for their hotlines at http://www.pcw.gov.ph/directory/vaw-hotlines.
The country still has a long way to go before citizens truly feel safe and have a secure community free of sexual harassment and abuse. The reports this year may be only the tip of the iceberg. Reporting cases of sexual harassment is a way to make the voices of the many women out there that are terrified be heard. If not through the police and officials, some let their voices be heard on social media. For instance, due to recent sexual allegations, people on Twitter made an uproar with the various hashtags #MeToo, #QuellaVoltaChe (“That Time When”), #BalanceTonPorc (“Snitch Out Your Pig”), as well as #IWillSpeakUp (which was started by A Call To Men campaign) to raise awareness about sexual harassment and misconduct.
Social media, in our generation, is a powerful weapon. Let us use this to empower those who are oppressed and educate those who are still in the dark.
Speak up and know your rights. Make this world safer for everyone.//by Rad Pascual and Rachel Siringan
