GENSOC

• Gender-based violence (GBV)


  Any harmful act that is perpetrated against a person's will and that is based on socially-ascribed (gender) differences between males and females
• Gender-based violence (GBV) is one of the most widespread human rights abuses, but least recognized in the world
• Gender-based violence (GBV) has devastating consequences not only for victims but also for society as a whole
• In the Philippines, gender-based violence has clearly been placed in the realm of women's human rights over the past decade
• Forms of gender-based violence experienced by women and girls


  • Battering and other forms of intimate partner violence including marital rape
  • Sexual violence
  • Dowry-related violence
  • Female infanticide
  • Sexual abuse of female children in the household
  • Horror crimes
  • Early marriage
  • Forced marriage
  • Female genital cutting, and other traditional practices harmful to women
  • Sexual harassment in the workplace and education institutions
  • Commercial sexual exploitation
  • Trafficking of girls and women
  • Violence perpetrated against domestic workers
• Gender-based violence cuts across public and private spheres, including home, school, and work, and takes place during peacetime and conflict
• Consequences of gender-based violence


  • Unwanted pregnancies
  • Complications from unsafe abortions
  • Sexually transmitted infections including HIV
  • Injuries
  • Mental health
  • Psychosocial effects (depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, suicide, and death)
  • Affects children's survival, development, and school participation
  • Families can be stigmatized
  • Reduced ability of many survivors to participate in social and economic life
  • Cost of public health and social welfare systems
• Survivor


  Preferred term (not a "victim") of a person who has lived through an incident of gender-based violence
• Perpetrator


  A person, group, or institution that inflicts, supports, or condones violence or other abuse against a person or group of persons
• Characteristics of perpetrators


  • Persons with real or perceived power
  • Persons in decision-making positions
  • Persons in authority
• In all incidents of GBV, there is always a survivor/victim and a perpetrator
• All actions in the prevention and responses to GBV need to address both the survivor and the perpetrator
• Human rights violated by gender-based violence


  • The right to life, liberty, and property of persons
  • The right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
  • The right to freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment
  • The right to freedom of opinion and expression and to education
• Gender-based violence is a worldwide phenomenon that must be given attention nationally and internationally
• A main focus of gender-based violence is violence against women (VAW) affecting women and girls across their lifespans
• VAW also covers a continuum of violence that appears to be unending, with an array of elements of abuse, coercion, or force
• The survivor and the perpetrator are important actors in GBV and VAW cases
• GBV and VAW are clear violations of human rights
• Power


  Perpetrators can have "real" or "perceived" power, including social, economic, political, physical, gender-based, and age-related power
• Unequal power relationships are exploited or abused in gender-based violence
• Force/Violence


  Might be physical, emotional, social, or economic in nature, and involves coercion, pressure, intimidation, threats, persecution, or other forms of psychological or social pressure
• Informed Consent


  Making an informed choice freely and voluntarily by persons in an equal power relationship
• Acts of GBV occur without informed consent, even if the survivor says "yes" under duress
• Children (under 18) are deemed unable to give informed consent for acts such as female genital cutting, marriage, sexual relations, etc.
• The cycle of violence refers to repeated acts of violence in a relationship, starting with minor incidents and moving on to more serious levels of violence
• The impact of being a victim or a witness to violence on a child is traumatic
• When children understand that violence is not acceptable, they will grow up into adults who respect other people
• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)


  International human rights treaty that focuses on women's rights and women's issues worldwide, governed by the principles of Substantive Equality, Non-discrimination, and state obligation
• Substantive Equality


  Recognizes differences but affirms equality, places obligation to correct environment, makes playing field even, requires laws and policies to take gender perspective into account
• Non-Discrimination


  Discrimination can be direct (obvious) or indirect (unintentional but results in unequal treatment)
• State Obligation


  States must respect, protect, promote, and fulfill the rights of women
• Every four years, states have to report to the CEDAW committee on the measures taken to respect, promote, protect, and fulfill the rights of women in their countries
• State Obligation


  • Respect the rights of women and must not do anything to violate women's rights such as enact discriminatory laws, engage in discriminatory practices, and the state must repeal discriminatory laws
  • Protect the rights of women and ensure that there are mechanisms for complaints, regulate institutions and individuals (such as the private companies, business sectors, and individuals to ensure that they do not violate women's rights, prohibit discriminations and provide sanctions against discriminatory acts
  • Promote the rights of women and must raise the awareness of women's rights in the country
  • Fulfill the rights of women and must take steps to provide enabling conditions, develop capacity of institutions, build women's ability to ensure equality, and remove hurdles that women face
• The state has the obligation to take temporary special measures. These are measures taken to provide temporary advantages to women in order to promote women equality and address discrimination
• Temporary special measures


  • Recruit more female teachers in rural schools
  • Give the family a stipend to compensate the loss of labor of the female children
  • Pass laws to make it compulsory for girls to attend school
• If women make up half of the population, women's voices must be represented in decision making positions so that their voices are not left out
• Why Care About CEDAW?


  • Helps girls and women of every age to claim their rights
  • Calls upon governments to take action to end discrimination of girls and women
  • Protects girls and women from discrimination in areas such as education, health, work, marriage and family life
  • Being aware of girls' and women's rights is the first step towards ending discrimination faced by girls and women
  • Girls and boys should know they have the same rights
• Why should boys and men care about CEDAW?


  • When girls and women exercise their rights, it benefits everyone, including boys and men
  • Boys and girls could be given the opportunity to come together to build a better future for themselves, their families, communities and nations
  • Boys and men can support girls and women in realizing their rights in many ways
• The Philippines is the first ASEAN country that ratified CEDAW on August 5, 1981. It also ratified the Optional Protocol to the CEDAW on November 12, 2003
• The Philippine Commission of Women accounted that the country's participation to CEDAW has contributed massively in the advancement and empowerment of the Filipino women. CEDAW paved the way to legislation of Republic Act 9710, the Magna Carta of Women and other landmark legislations that protects women from discrimination and violence