Mary HopeCamusBS Psychology 4

Analysis in Politics & Governance

(Article II of the Philippine Constitution)

Section 14. The State recognizes the role of women in nation-building, and shall ensure the fundamental equality before the law of women and men.

ARTICLE IIDECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES AND

STATE POLICIES

ISSUES

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMENThe United Nations Declaration on Violence Against Women defines it as: Any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivations of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.

ISSUESIn the Philippines, 1 out of 5 women, ages 15-49, has experienced physical violence, 14.4 % of married women have experienced physical abuse from their husbands; 1 in 6 pregnant women are abused during pregnancy. 37 % of separated or widowed women have experienced physical violence according to the NSO survey.

ISSUESINEQUALITY IN WORKPLACEWomen workers, especially in the informal economy, continuously face discrimination in accessing credit, benefits, and opportunities to improve their lives and that of their families. The Philippines ranked ninth out of 142 countries in terms of gender equality, according to the recent World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Gender Gap Report 2014.

Recommendation

In order to prevent women from violence, provide them medical as well as judicial and legal support, new plans and interventional maps should be made in the societies in collaboration with health team members, religious and societal leaders, NGOs, police department and people from other similar groups.

RecommendationAs an employer, they should have a

thorough understanding of the laws in place to prevent discrimination in the workplace.

Sexual harassment strictly should also not be tolerated and clear guidelines must be put in place to ensure staff understand what this involves.

The employer should also make it easy for employees to report any instances of harassment and inform them of the professional consequences for offenders.

There should be an established policy that ensures that both your male and female staff are paid equally for the same role, and that they are given the same opportunities in terms of recruitment and promotion.

Recommendation