Women’s rights, human rights:

Law enforcement perspective

Gender mainstreaming is not:

• just about sensitization;
• just about women alone;
• just about 5% budget allocation;

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• IT IS MORE OF PUTTING A GENDER ENLIGHTENED PERSPECTIVE IN THE DIFFERENT FUNCTIONAL AREAS OF AN ORGANIZATION.

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Understanding Gender Concepts and Principles

THE DIFFERENCE:

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Between Gender and Sex

Gender

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• Social or cultural construct about men and women
• Characteristics
• Perceptions
• Roles
• Attitudes
• Behaviors

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Sex

• Biological fact; a natural distinguishing variable
• Genetic : Chromosomes, hormones
• Physical: body contour, features, genitals, reproductive organs
• Label: female or male; man or woman; boy or girl

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Sex is what you are born with. Gender is what happens afterwards!

Sex-Gender System

• The way society is organized so that:
• Masculine gender is ascribed to that male sex
• Feminine gender is ascribed to the female sex

Sex-Gender System

• Gender roles
• Men – income earning
• Women – caring for children and home
• Gender role standards
• Gender role socialization
• Home, school, mass media, religion, etc

Sex-Gender System

• Gender division of labor
• Productive
• Reproductive
• Gender entitlements
• Resources
• Benefits
• Power

Sex-Gender System

• Gender stereotypes
• Personality traits, skills and capacities
• Unexamined images people hold about men and women
• Based on the ideology of male superiority
• Gender-based ideology: Sexism

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Sex-Gender System

• Gender subordination
• Secondary position of women in society
• Low representation in politics
• Relegated to the domestic/private sphere
• Object of violence – from sexual harassment to domestic violence
• Gender inequality

PRINCIPLES OF STATE OBLIGATIONS UNDER CEDAW

CEDAW: A Consolidation of Centuries of Women’s Struggles

• 1949 Treaty dealing with specific issues affecting women
• 1967: Declaration on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
• 1974-1979: Drafting of CEDAW
• 1979: Adoption of CEDAW by the General Assembly
• 1981: CEDAW entered into force
• 1981: Philippine government ratifies CEDAW

State Obligations to CEDAW

• To respect, protect and fulfill women’s human rights as articulated in the Convention;
• Include an equality and non discrimination provision in the Constitution;
• Take all appropriate measures to repeal discriminatory laws and enact enabling laws consistent with CEDAW principles;
• Provide enabling policy environment and the means to attain equality to women

Philippine Implementation of CEDAW

• Constitutional provision on equality;
• Laws on women;
• Establishment of National Machinery (NCRFW);
• Gender Mainstreaming;
• GAD Budget;
• Beijing Platform for Action.

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State Policy:

• Art II, Sec 14, Philippine Constitution:

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“The State recognizes the role of women

in nation-building,

and shall ensure the fundamental equality before the law of women and men.”

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND CHILDREN:

A LAW ENFORCEMENT ISSUE IN THE

21^ST CENTURY

Introduction:

• Crimes against women and children are not new to law enforcement.

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• Law enforcement serves as an essential component in the interplay of disciplines that address crimes against women and children.

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Domestic Violence: �Subverting the Dominant Beliefs

• Family Violence: A “private matter”
• (It is everybody’s business. It is a crime --- a violation of human rights.)

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• Domestic violence is exceptional and is done only by sick men.
• (Not all batterers are “sick”. Violence is done even by highly-placed, kind, gentle and intelligent people.)

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• Family violence happens only in poor income families.
• (It is not a “disease” of the poor. Family violence occurs across all classes and communities.)

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Domestic Violence:�Subverting the Dominant Beliefs

• Men batter because they are under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
• (Drugs and alcohol merely facilitate and intensify violence. They are not the real cause of violence.)
• Domestic violence is a just a temporary loss of temper.
• (It is in fact the conscious use of force or power in order to dominate and control the wife.)
• Husbands have the right to do what they want to their wives.
• (Violence is never an acceptable part of a relationship. No person has the right to be abusive or violent to a person, whatever the relationship.)

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THE HUMAN FACES OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND CHILDREN

Realities: Violence Against Women

• A national survey in 1993 revealed that about 60% of women were victims of physical abuse

Physical Abuse

• 30% experienced being thrown with hot/cold liquid
• 6% experienced hacking and stabbing
• 6% experienced being shot
• 3% attempted burning�

Direct Consequences of Physical Abuse

• Physical injuries (cuts, lacerations, gunshot and bolo wounds, bruises, contusions, retinal hemorrhage, hematoma, black eyes, hairline skull cracks)
• Muscular/body pains (arthritis, joint pains)
• Migraines, headaches
• Chills, fever, infection
• Broken teeth and bones, fractured jaws
• Burns, scalds (due to throwing of boiling water)
• Disfigurement, scars
• Hair loss
• Partial/permanent disability

Perceived Consequences on Physical Health

• Gallbladder stones
• Heart problems (breathing difficulties, chest pains, palpitations, 'nerbiyos')
• Dizziness, vomiting
• Weight loss
• Anemia, malnutrition
• Sickliness
• Allergies
• Hypertension
• Asthma
• Fainting
• Weak eyesight
• Weak lungs
• Loss of hearing
• Goiter�

Perceived Consequences on Mental Health

• Fear, anxiety and nervousness (96.7%)
• Depression, crying spells (93.3%)
• Loss of self-esteem, shame, guilt, lack of confidence (90%)
• Anger, hostility, distrust (90%)
• Sleeping disorders (insomnia, hypersomnia, night mares, bad/recurring dreams (90%)
• Self-hatred, self-blaming (63.3%)
• Death wish for abuser (70%)
• Lethargy, passivity (70%)
• Suicidal thoughts, attempts (60%)
• Eating Disorders, loss of appetite (60%)

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Perceived Consequences on Mental Health

• Phobias (loud sounds, darkness, heights, being alone)
• Denial, minimizing the experience (56.7%)
• Mood swings (56.7%)
• Lack of concentration/short attention span (56.7%)
• Selective memory, memory loss (50%)
• Self-isolation (43.3%)
• Shocked, numb, 'natutulala' (36.7%)
• Fear of intimacy, attachment (33.3%)

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Effects on Reproductive Health

• Unwanted pregnancy
• Reproductive tract infections
• Sexually transmitted diseases��Consequences of DV During Pregnancy�*Miscarriage�*Hemorrhage�*Threatened abortion�*Attempted abortion

*Unsafe abortion

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• “Noong una, binibiro niya ako na bobo at binabatuk-batukan, binubuntal na may tuwalya ang kamay. Tapos nauwi ito sa pagmumura, pananapak at pagbalibag sa kama. Hanggang nitong huli, binibalya (buckle) niya ako ng kanyang garison belt sa ulo, tintutukan ng baril at kinaladkad sa labas at pinalalayas. Dito ako natakot na maaari niya akong patayin kahit anong oras”. �� Maritess, a survivor �

THE MAN YOU LOVE COULD BE A

WIFE – BEATER OR A CHILD ABUSER.

Difficulties of women in leaving violent relationships:

• Emotional factors:
• Hope that the abusive partner will change
• Concern for the children
• Love and emotional investment
• Loss of self-confidence
• Fear for her life or safety and those of her children and loved ones
• Isolation

Source: Domestic Violence: Information Guide, Series No. 1

Difficulties of women in leaving violent relationships

• Societal and cultural norms
• Patriarchal understanding that women should put the rights, welfare and interests of others above their own
• Family preservation at all costs
• Normalization of abuse and violence

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Source: Domestic Violence: Information Guide, Series No. 1

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Difficulties of women in leaving violent relationships

• Structural Factors:
• Lack of resources
• Lack of support systems
• Lack of education or awareness
• Lack of employment and training opportunities
• Lack of legal protective measures

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Source: Domestic Violence: Information Guide, Series No. 1

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Cycle of Violence

The Hidden Victims of Domestic Violence:��EFFECTS OF VIOLENCE �TO CHILDREN

Domestic Violence: �What do children feel

• Children are often caught in a crossfire.
• To a small child, parents are, at times, giants who know everything.
• Children feel at the mercy of these huge creatures who can do no wrong.
• Children sometimes feel they have caused the trouble.
• Believing that they have caused the violence, they also believe they can put a stop to it.
• “How do they love yet fight each other?”

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Domestic Violence: �Its Effects on Children

• depression
• anti-social behavior
• withdrawn and often suicidal
• girls internalize, boys externalize
• chronic lying
• secretive

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Domestic Violence: �What else to children

• neighborhood quarrel
• sibling rivalries
• violence seen on television
• unfriendly/violent cartoon shows
• adult violent movies/shows
• use of expletive languages in soap operas
• sex videos
• wrong role-modeling among parents/guardians

FACTORS THAT LED MEN TO POSITIVELY ACT ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE:

• Men are now aware that violence against women and children is wrong and evil.
• Men are now aware about the rights of women and children.
• Men are now educated about the issues regarding women and children, like gender equality and child abuse.
• Men are very bothered and disturbed by the unabated incidents of violence against women children.
• Sick and tired of being mere fence-sitters
• Men should be empowered to contribute and participate in contributing solutions to violence.

WHAT IS GAD?

• It seeks to empower women and reform the structures that perpetuate the basic inequities affecting the larger segment of the population.
• In any development plan and implementation, gender has become an essential component
• Development must consist of two human faces: of a man, and the other, of a woman

• GAD recognizes that the present patterns of gender relations are skewed against (read: gender bias) women, making them invisible and their contributions unrecognized in the different stages of development planning, decision-making and distribution of productive resources.

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• Manifestations of gender biases
• Economic Marginalization
• Political Subordination
• Gender Stereotyping
• Multiple Burden
• Violence Against Women

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Demystifying GAD Mainstreaming

• GAD Mainstreaming: the process through which gender concerns are integrated into the major functions of government agencies in development, namely: planning, imple-mentation, monitoring and evaluation.

Questions that Matter:

• Will individuals in the bureaucracy perform better on the job after GAD mainstreaming?
• Will government services improve after GAD mainstreaming?
• Will agencies perform better after GAD mainstreaming?

The other Question �(that matters most):

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Are we ready for change?

Four (4) Entry Points of GAD Mainstreaming:

• Policy
• People
• Enabling mechanisms
• Programs and Projects

• Policy
• official statements and pronouncements of support for GAD mainstreaming issued by the agency.
• People
• on whose shoulders fall the task of GAD mainstreaming
• 4 distinct roles: the sponsor; the change agent; the target; the advocate
• Enabling mechanisms
• Resources alloted where success of GAD mainstreaming depends
• GAD Budget in GAA (5% of gross agency budget)
• Programs and Projects
• the best reflection of top management’s support for GAD mainstreaming

GAD Focal Point:

• WHAT is it?: It is a mechanism to catalyze, coordinate, provide direction, serve as technical adviser on women/gender and development efforts within the agency
• WHERE to set up?: In any government agency, department, bureau, GOCCs, State colleges and universities, attached agencies, LGUs, within inter-agency or local councils, such as development councils in the regional, provincial, city, municipal or barangay level.
• WHY? This is to facilitate and sustain the implementation of GAD-related programs and projects and it serves as one of the mechanisms through which the government hopes to realize its commitment to the promotion of women’s well-being and their active participation in nation-building.

WHO Compose the GAD Focal Point:

• Membership/composition may vary depending on the needs of the agency or the locality it serves. It is headed by someone who has enough clout in the agency, someone who has a strong influence on agency planning and operations.
• FUNCTIONS: Direction-setting; advo-cacy; monitoring; coordination; technical advisory on gender and development issues.

THE PNP WOMEN AND CHILDREN PROTECTION DESK

The “human face” of law enforcement...

Domestic laws and instruments:

• RA 9208 - Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act of 2004
• RA 9208 – Anti-Trafficking in Human Beings, Especially Women and Children Act of 2003
• RA 7610 - Special Protection of Children from all forms of Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act
• RA 7658 - Amending RA 7610 on anti-child labor practices
• RA 6955 - Anti-Mail Order Bride Act
• RA 7877 - Anti-Sexual Harassment Act
• RA 8353 - Anti-Rape Act
• RA 8369 - Family Courts Act
• RA 8505 - Rape Victim Assistance Act
• Act 3018 - Revised Penal Code

• THANK YOU.