ROTC MS 2: MILITARY CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT MODULE

GAD AWARENESS

OBJECTIVES:

At the end of this module, you will be able to:

1. Understand sex and gender;

2. Understand the Magna Carta of Women;
3. Understand the rights of women guaranteed under the Magna Carta of Women; and
4. Understand and know the manifestation of gender bias.

INTRODUCTION

UNDERSTANDING SEX AND GENDER

Although the terms sex and gender are sometimes used interchangeably and do
complement each other, they nonetheless refer to different aspects of what it means to be a
woman or man in any society.

Sex refers to the anatomical and other biological differences between females and males
that are determined at the moment of conception and develop in the womb and throughout
childhood and adolescence. Females, of course, have two X chromosomes, while males
have one X chromosome and one Y chromosome. From this basic genetic difference spring
other biological differences. The first to appear are the genitals that boys and girls develop in
the womb and that the doctor (or midwife) and parents look for when a baby is born
(assuming the baby’s sex is not already known from ultrasound or other techniques) so that
the momentous announcement, “It’s a boy!” or “It’s a girl!” can be made. The genitalia are
called primary sex characteristics, while the other differences that develop during puberty
are called secondary sex characteristics and stem from hormonal differences between the
two sexes. Boys generally acquire deeper voices, more body hair, and more muscles from
their flowing testosterone. Girls develop breasts and wider hips and begin menstruating as
nature prepares them for possible pregnancy and childbirth. For better or worse, these basic
biological differences between the sexes affect many people’s perceptions of what it means
to be female or male, as we next discuss.

LEGAL BASES OF GAD

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9710

AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE MAGNA CARTA OF WOMEN

CHAPTER I

General Provisions

SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as “The Magna Carta of Women”.

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. — Recognizing that the economic, political, and

sociocultural realities affect women’s current condition, the State affirms the role of women in
nation building and ensures the substantive equality of women and men. It shall promote
empowerment of women and pursue equal opportunities for women and men and ensure

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equal access to resources and to development results and outcome. Further, the State
realizes that equality of men and women entails the abolition of the unequal structures and
practices that perpetuate discrimination and inequality. To realize this, the State shall
endeavor to develop plans, policies, programs, measures, and mechanisms to address
discrimination and inequality in the economic, political, social, and cultural life of women and
men.

The State condemns discrimination against women in all its forms and pursues by all
appropriate means and without delay the policy of eliminating discrimination against women
in keeping with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against
Women (CEDAW) and other international instruments consistent with Philippine law. The
State shall accord women the rights, protection, and opportunities available to every member
of society.

The State affirms women’s rights as human rights and shall intensify its efforts to fulfill its
duties under international and domestic law to recognize, respect, protect, fulfill, and
promote all human rights and fundamental freedoms of women, especially marginalized
women, in the economic, social, political, cultural, and other fields without distinction or
discrimination on account of class, age, sex, gender, language, ethnicity, religion, ideology,
disability, education, and status.

The State shall provide the necessary mechanisms to enforce women’s rights and adopt and
undertake all legal measures necessary to foster and promote the equal opportunity for
women to participate in and contribute to the development of the political, economic, social,
and cultural realms.

The State, in ensuring the full integration of women’s concerns in the mainstream of
development, shall provide ample opportunities to enhance and develop their skills, acquire
productive employment and contribute to their families and communities to the fullest of their
capabilities.

In pursuance of this policy, the State reaffirms the right of women in all sectors to participate
in policy formulation, planning, organization, implementation, management, monitoring, and
evaluation of all programs, projects, and services. It shall support policies, researches,
technology, and training programs and other support services such as financing, production,
and marketing to encourage active participation of women in national development.

SECTION 3. Principles of Human Rights of Women. — Human rights are universal and
inalienable. All people in the world are entitled to them. The universality of human rights is
encompassed in the words of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which
states that all human beings are free and equal in dignity and rights.

Human rights are indivisible. Human rights are inherent to the dignity of every human being
whether they relate to civil, cultural, economic, political, or social issues.

Human rights are interdependent and interrelated. The fulfillment of one right often depends,
wholly or in part, upon the fulfillment of others.

All individuals are equal as human beings by virtue of the inherent dignity of each human
person. No one, therefore, should suffer discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, gender, age,
language, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, political, or other opinion, national, social,
or geographical origin, disability, property, birth, or other status as established by human
rights standards.

All people have the right to participate in and access information relating to the decision-
making processes that affect their lives and well-being. Rights-based approaches require a

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high degree of participation by communities, civil society, minorities, women, young people,
indigenous peoples, and other identified groups.

States and other duty-bearers are answerable for the observance of human rights. They
have to comply with the legal norms and standards enshrined in international human rights
instruments in accordance with the Philippine Constitution. Where they fail to do so,
aggrieved rights-holders are entitled to institute proceedings for appropriate redress before a
competent court or other adjudicator in accordance with the rules and procedures provided
by law.

CHAPTER II

Definition of Terms

SECTION 4. Definitions. — For purposes of this Act, the following terms shall mean:

(a) “Women Empowerment” refers to the provision, availability, and accessibility of

opportunities, services, and observance of human rights which enable women to actively
participate and contribute to the political, economic, social, and cultural development of the
nation as well as those which shall provide them equal access to ownership, management,
and control of production, and of material and informational resources and benefits in the
family, community, and society.

(b) “Discrimination Against Women” refers to any gender-based distinction, exclusion, or

restriction which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition,
enjoyment, or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality
of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic,
social, cultural, civil, or any other field.

It includes any act or omission, including by law, policy, administrative measure, or practice,
that directly or indirectly excludes or restricts women in the recognition and promotion of
their rights and their access to and enjoyment of opportunities, benefits, or privileges.

A measure or practice of general application is discrimination against women if it fails to

provide for mechanisms to offset or address sex or gender-based disadvantages or
limitations of women, as a result of which women are denied or restricted in the recognition
and protection of their rights and in their access to and enjoyment of opportunities, benefits,
or privileges; or women, more than men, are shown to have suffered the greater adverse
effects of those measures or practices.

Provided, finally, that discrimination compounded by or intersecting with other grounds,

status, or condition, such as ethnicity, age, poverty, or religion shall be considered
discrimination against women under this Act.

(c) “Marginalization” refers to a condition where a whole category of people is excluded from
useful and meaningful participation in political, economic, social, and cultural life.

(d) “Marginalized” refers to the basic, disadvantaged, or vulnerable persons or groups who
are mostly living in poverty and have little or no access to land and other resources, basic
social and economic services such as health care, education, water and sanitation,
employment and livelihood opportunities, housing, social security, physical infrastructure,
and the justice system.

These include, but are not limited to, women in the following sectors and groups:

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(1) “Small Farmers and Rural Workers” refers to those who are engaged directly or indirectly
in small farms and forest areas, workers in commercial farms and plantations, whether paid
or unpaid, regular or season-bound. These shall include, but are not limited to, (a) small
farmers who own or are still amortizing for lands that is not more than three (3) hectares,
tenants, leaseholders, and stewards; and (b) rural workers who are either wage earners,
self-employed, unpaid family workers directly and personally engaged in agriculture, small-
scale mining, handicrafts, and other related farm and off-farm activities;

(2) “Fisherfolk” refers to those directly or indirectly engaged in taking, culturing, or

processing fishery or aquatic resources. These include, but are not to be limited to, women
engaged in fishing in municipal waters, coastal and marine areas, women workers in
commercial fishing and aquaculture, vendors and processors of fish and coastal products,
and subsistence producers such as shell-gatherers, managers, and producers of mangrove
resources, and other related producers;

(3) “Urban Poor” refers to those residing in urban and urbanizable slum or blighted areas,
with or without the benefit of security of abode, where the income of the head of the family
cannot afford in a sustained manner to provide for the family’s basic needs of food, health,
education, housing, and other essentials in life;

(4) “Workers in the Formal Economy” refers to those who are employed by any person
acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to an employee and shall
include the government and all its branches, subdivisions, and instrumentalities, all
government-owned and -controlled corporations and institutions, as well as nonprofit private
institutions or organizations;

(5) “Workers in the Informal Economy” refers to self-employed, occasionally or personally

hired, subcontracted, paid and unpaid family workers in household incorporated and
unincorporated enterprises, including home workers, micro-entrepreneurs and producers,
and operators of sari-sari stores and all other categories who suffer from violation of workers’
rights;

(6) “Migrant Workers” refers to Filipinos who are to be engaged, are engaged, or have been
engaged in a remunerated activity in a State of which they are not legal residents, whether
documented or undocumented;

(7) “Indigenous Peoples” refers to a group of people or homogenous societies identified by

self-ascription and ascription by other, who have continuously lived as organized community
on communally bounded and defined territory, and who have, under claims of ownership
since time immemorial, occupied, possessed customs, tradition, and other distinctive cultural
traits, or who have, through resistance to political, social, and cultural inroads of colonization,
non-indigenous religions and culture, became historically differentiated from the majority of
Filipinos. They shall likewise include peoples who are regarded as indigenous on account of
their descent from the populations which inhabited the country, at the time of conquest or
colonization, or at the time of inroads of non-indigenous religions and cultures, or the
establishment of present state boundaries, who retain some or all of their own social,
economic, cultural, and political institutions, but who may have been displaced from their
traditional domains or who may have resettled outside their ancestral domains as defined
under Section 3 (h), Chapter II of Republic Act No. 8371, otherwise known as “The
Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997” (IPRA of 1997);

(8) “Moro” refers to native peoples who have historically inhabited Mindanao, Palawan, and
Sulu, and who are largely of the Islamic faith;

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(9) “Children” refers to those who are below eighteen (18) years of age or over but are
unable to fully take care of themselves or protect themselves from abuse, neglect, cruelty,
exploitation, or discrimination because of a physical or mental disability or condition;

(10) “Senior Citizens” refers to those sixty (60) years of age and above;

(11) “Persons with Disabilities” refers to those who are suffering from restriction or different
abilities, as a result of a mental, physical, or sensory impairment to perform an activity in the
manner or within the range considered normal for a human being; and

(12) “Solo Parents” refers to those who fall under the category of a solo parent defined under
Republic Act No. 8972, otherwise known as the “Solo Parents Welfare Act of 2000”.

(e) “Substantive Equality” refers to the full and equal enjoyment of rights and freedoms
contemplated under this Act. It encompasses de jure and de facto equality and also equality
in outcomes.

(f) “Gender Equality” refers to the principle asserting the equality of men and women and
their right to enjoy equal conditions realizing their full human potentials to contribute to and
benefit from the results of development, and with the State recognizing that all human beings
are free and equal in dignity and rights.

(g) “Gender Equity” refers to the policies, instruments, programs, services, and actions that
address the disadvantaged position of women in society by providing preferential treatment
and affirmative action. Such temporary special measures aimed at accelerating de facto
equality between men and women shall not be considered discriminatory but shall in no way
entail as a consequence the maintenance of unequal or separate standards. These
measures shall be discontinued when the objectives of equality of opportunity and treatment
have been achieved.

(h) “Gender and Development (GAD)” refers to the development perspective and process
that are participatory and empowering, equitable, sustainable, free from violence, respectful
of human rights, supportive of self-determination and actualization of human potentials. It
seeks to achieve gender equality as a fundamental value that should be reflected in
development choices; seeks to transform society’s social, economic and political structures
and questions the validity of the gender roles they ascribed to women and men; contends
that women are active agents of development and not just passive recipients of development
assistance; and stresses the need of women to organize themselves and participate in
political processes to strengthen their legal rights.

(i) “Gender Mainstreaming” refers to the strategy for making women’s as well as men’s
concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring,
and evaluation of policies and programs in all political, economic, and societal spheres so
that women and men benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated. It is the process of
assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation,
policies, or programs in all areas and at all levels.

(j) “Temporary Special Measures” refers to a variety of legislative, executive, administrative,

and regulatory instruments, policies, and practices aimed at accelerating this de facto
equality of women in specific areas. These measures shall not be considered discriminatory
but shall in no way entail as a consequence the maintenance of unequal or separate
standards. They shall be discontinued when their objectives have been achieved.

(k) “Violence Against Women” refers to 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

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threats of such acts, coercion, or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public
or in private life. It shall be understood to encompass, but not limited to, the following:

(1) Physical, sexual, psychological, and economic violence occurring in the family, including
battering, sexual abuse of female children in the household, dowry-related violence, marital
rape, and other traditional practices harmful to women, non-spousal violence, and violence
related to exploitation;

(2) Physical, sexual, and psychological violence occurring within the general community,
including rape, sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and intimidation at work, in educational
institutions and elsewhere, trafficking in women, and prostitution; and

(3) Physical, sexual, and psychological violence perpetrated or condoned by the State,
wherever it occurs.

It also includes acts of violence against women as defined in Republic Acts No. 9208 and
9262.

(l) “Women in the Military” refers to women employed in the military, both in the major and
technical services, who are performing combat and/or noncombat functions, providing
security to the State, and protecting the people from various forms of threat. It also includes
women trainees in all military training institutions.

(m) “Social Protection” refers to policies and programs that seek to reduce poverty and
vulnerability to risks and enhance the social status and rights of all women, especially the
marginalized by promoting and protecting livelihood and employment, protecting against
hazards and sudden loss of income, and improving people’s capacity to manage risk. Its
components are labor market programs, social insurance, social welfare, and social safety
nets.

CHAPTER III

Duties Related to the Human Rights of Women

The State, private sector, society in general, and all individuals shall contribute to the
recognition, respect, and promotion of the rights of women defined and guaranteed under
this Act.

SECTION 5. The State as the Primary Duty-Bearer. — The State, as the primary duty-
bearer, shall:

(a) Refrain from discriminating against women and violating their rights;

(b) Protect women against discrimination and from violation of their rights by private
corporations, entities, and individuals; and

(c) Promote and fulfill the rights of women in all spheres, including their rights to substantive
equality and non-discrimination.

The State shall fulfill these duties through law, policy, regulatory instruments, administrative
guidelines, and other appropriate measures, including temporary special measures.

Recognizing the interrelation of the human rights of women, the State shall take measures
and establish mechanisms to promote the coherent and integrated implementation and

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enforcement of this Act and related laws, policies, or other measures to effectively stop
discrimination against and advance the rights of women.

The State shall keep abreast with and be guided by progressive developments in human
rights of women under international law and design of policies, laws, and other measures to
promote the objectives of this Act.

SECTION 6. Duties of the State Agencies and Instrumentalities. — These duties of the State
shall extend to all state agencies, offices, and instrumentalities at all levels and government-
owned and -controlled corporations, subject to the Constitution and pertinent laws, policies,
or administrative guidelines that define specific duties of state agencies and entities
concerned.

SECTION 7. Suppletory Effect. — This chapter shall be deemed integrated into and be
suppletory to other provisions of this Act, particularly those that guarantee specific rights to
women and define specific roles and require specific conduct of state organs.

CHAPTER IV

Rights and Empowerment

SECTION 8. Human Rights of Women. — All rights in the Constitution and those rights
recognized under international instruments duly signed and ratified by the Philippines, in
consonance with Philippine law, shall be rights of women under this Act to be enjoyed
without discrimination.

SECTION 9. Protection from Violence. — The State shall ensure that all women shall be
protected from all forms of violence as provided for in existing laws. Agencies of government
shall give priority to the defense and protection of women against gender-based offenses
and help women attain justice and healing.

Towards this end, measures to prosecute and reform offenders shall likewise be pursued.
(a) Within the next five (5) years, there shall be an incremental increase in the recruitment
and training of women in the police force, forensics and medico-legal, legal services, and
social work services availed of by women who are victims of gender-related offenses until
fifty percent (50%) of the personnel thereof shall be women.

(b) Women shall have the right to protection and security in situations of armed conflict and
militarization. Towards this end, they shall be protected from all forms of gender-based
violence, particularly rape and other forms of sexual abuse, and all forms of violence in
situations of armed conflict. The State shall observe international standards for the
protection of civilian population in circumstances of emergency and armed conflict. It shall
not force women, especially indigenous peoples, to abandon their lands, territories, and
means of subsistence, or relocate them in special centers for military purposes under any
discriminatory condition.

(c) All government personnel involved in the protection and defense of women against
gender-based violence shall undergo a mandatory training on human rights and gender
sensitivity pursuant to this Act.

(d) All local government units shall establish a Violence Against Women’s Desk in every
barangay to ensure that violence against women cases are fully addressed in a gender-
responsive manner.

SECTION 10. Women Affected by Disasters, Calamities, and Other Crisis Situations. —
Women have the right to protection and security in times of disasters, calamities, and other

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crisis situations especially in all phases of relief, recovery, rehabilitation, and construction
efforts. The State shall provide for immediate humanitarian assistance, allocation of
resources, and early resettlement, if necessary. It shall also address the particular needs of
women from a gender perspective to ensure their full protection from sexual exploitation and
other sexual and gender-based violence committed against them. Responses to disaster
situations shall include the provision of services, such as psychosocial support, livelihood
support, education, psychological health, and comprehensive health services, including
protection during pregnancy.

SECTION 11. Participation and Representation. — The State shall undertake temporary
special measures to accelerate the participation and equitable representation of women in all
spheres of society particularly in the decision-making and policy-making processes in
government and private entities to fully realize their role as agents and beneficiaries of
development.

The State shall institute the following affirmative action mechanisms so that women can
participate meaningfully in the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of policies, plans,
and programs for national, regional, and local development:

(a) Empowerment within the Civil Service. — Within the next five (5) years, the number of
women in third (3rd) level positions in government shall be incrementally increased to
achieve a fifty-fifty (50-50) gender balance;

(b) Development Councils and Planning Bodies. — To ensure the participation of women in
all levels of development planning and program implementation, at least forty percent (40%)
of membership of all development councils from the regional, provincial, city, municipal and
barangay levels shall be composed of women;

(c) Other Policy and Decision-Making Bodies. — Women’s groups shall also be represented
in international, national, and local special and decision-making bodies;

(d) International Bodies. — The State shall take all appropriate measures to ensure the
opportunity of women, on equal terms with men and without any discrimination, to represent
their governments at the international level and to participate in the work of international
organizations;

(e) Integration of Women in Political Parties. — The State shall provide incentives to political
parties with women’s agenda. It shall likewise encourage the integration of women in their
leadership hierarchy, internal policy-making structures, appointive, and electoral nominating
processes; and

(f) Private Sector. — The State shall take measures to encourage women leadership in the
private sector in the form of incentives.

SECTION 12. Equal Treatment Before the Law. — The State shall take steps to review and,
when necessary, amend and/or repeal existing laws that are discriminatory to women within
three (3) years from the effectivity of this Act.

SECTION 13. Equal Access and Elimination of Discrimination in Education, Scholarships,

and Training. — (a) The State shall ensure that gender stereotypes and images in
educational materials and curricula are adequately and appropriately revised. Gender-
sensitive language shall be used at all times. Capacity-building on gender and development
(GAD), peace and human rights, education for teachers, and all those involved in the
education sector shall be pursued toward this end. Partnerships between and among players
of the education sector, including the private sector, churches, and faith groups shall be
encouraged.

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(b) Enrollment of women in nontraditional skills training in vocational and tertiary levels shall
be encouraged.

(c) Expulsion and non-readmission of women faculty due to pregnancy outside of marriage
shall be outlawed. No school shall turn out or refuse admission to a female student solely on
the account of her having contracted pregnancy outside of marriage during her term in
school.

SECTION 14. Women in Sports. — The State shall develop, establish, and strengthen
programs for the participation of women and girl-children in competitive and noncompetitive
sports as a means to achieve excellence, promote physical and social well-being, eliminate
gender-role stereotyping, and provide equal access to the full benefits of development for all
persons regardless of sex, gender identity, and other similar factors.

For this purpose, all sports-related organizations shall create guidelines that will establish
and integrate affirmative action as a strategy and gender equality as a framework in planning
and implementing their policies, budgets, programs, and activities relating to the participation
of women and girls in sports.

The State will also provide material and nonmaterial incentives to local government units,
media organizations, and the private sector for promoting, training, and preparing women
and girls for participation in competitive and noncompetitive sports, especially in local and
international events, including, but not limited to, the Palarong Pambansa, Southeast Asian
Games, Asian Games, and the Olympics.

No sports event or tournament will offer or award a different sports prize, with respect to its
amount or value, to women and men winners in the same sports category: Provided, That
the said tournament, contest, race, match, event, or game is open to both sexes: Provided,
further, That the sports event or tournament is divided into male or female divisions.

The State shall also ensure the safety and well-being of all women and girls participating in
sports, especially, but not limited to, trainees, reserve members, members, coaches, and
mentors of national sports teams, whether in studying, training, or performance phases, by
providing them comprehensive health and medical insurance coverage, as well as integrated
medical, nutritional, and healthcare services.

Schools, colleges, universities, or any other learning institution shall take into account its
total women student population in granting athletic scholarship. There shall be a pro rata
representation of women in the athletic scholarship program based on the percentage of
women in the whole student population.

SECTION 15. Women in the Military. — The State shall pursue appropriate measures to
eliminate discrimination of women in the military, police, and other similar services, including
revising or abolishing policies and practices that restrict women from availing of both combat
and noncombat training that are open to men, or from taking on functions other than
administrative tasks, such as engaging in combat, security-related, or field operations.
Women in the military shall be accorded the same promotional privileges and opportunities
as men, including pay increases, additional remunerations and benefits, and awards based
on their competency and quality of performance. Towards this end, the State shall ensure
that the personal dignity of women shall always be respected.

Women in the military, police, and other similar services shall be provided with the same
right to employment as men on equal conditions. Equally, they shall be accorded the same
capacity as men to act in and enter into contracts, including marriage.

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Further, women in the military, police, and other similar services shall be entitled to leave
benefits such as maternity leave, as provided for by existing laws.

SECTION 16. Nondiscriminatory and Nonderogatory Portrayal of Women in Media and Film.
— The State shall formulate policies and programs for the advancement of women in
collaboration with government and nongovernment media-related organizations. It shall
likewise endeavor to raise the consciousness of the general public in recognizing the dignity
of women and the role and contribution of women in the family, community, and the society
through the strategic use of mass media.

For this purpose, the State shall ensure allocation of space, airtime, and resources,
strengthen programming, production, and image-making that appropriately present women’s
needs, issues, and concerns in all forms of media, communication, information
dissemination, and advertising.

The State, in cooperation with all schools of journalism, information, and communication, as
well as the national media federations and associations, shall require all media organizations
and corporations to integrate into their human resource development components regular
training on gender equality and gender-based discrimination, create and use gender equality
guidelines in all aspects of management, training, production, information, dissemination,
communication, and programming; and convene a gender equality committee that will
promote gender mainstreaming as a framework and affirmative action as a strategy, and
monitor and evaluate the implementation of gender equality guidelines.

SECTION 17. Women’s Right to Health. — (a) Comprehensive Health Services. — The
State shall, at all times, provide for a comprehensive, culture-sensitive, and gender-
responsive health services and programs covering all stages of a woman’s life cycle and
which addresses the major causes of women’s mortality and morbidity: Provided, That in the
provision for comprehensive health services, due respect shall be accorded to women’s
religious convictions, the rights of the spouses to found a family in accordance with their
religious convictions, and the demands of responsible parenthood, and the right of women to
protection from hazardous drugs, devices, interventions, and substances.

Access to the following services shall be ensured:

(1) Maternal care to include pre- and post-natal services to address pregnancy and infant
health and nutrition;

(2) Promotion of breastfeeding;

(3) Responsible, ethical, legal, safe, and effective methods of family planning;

(4) Family and State collaboration in youth sexuality education and health services without
prejudice to the primary right and duty of parents to educate their children;

(5) Prevention and management of reproductive tract infections, including sexually

transmitted diseases, HIV, and AIDS;

(6) Prevention and management of reproductive tract cancers like breast and cervical
cancers, and other gynecological conditions and disorders;

(7) Prevention of abortion and management of pregnancy-related complications;

(8) In cases of violence against women and children, women and children victims and
survivors shall be provided with comprehensive health services that include psychosocial,

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therapeutic, medical, and legal interventions and assistance towards healing, recovery, and
empowerment;

(9) Prevention and management of infertility and sexual dysfunction pursuant to ethical
norms and medical standards;

(10) Care of the elderly women beyond their child-bearing years; and

(11) Management, treatment, and intervention of mental health problems of women and
girls.

In addition, healthy lifestyle activities are encouraged and promoted through programs and
projects as strategies in the prevention of diseases.

(b) Comprehensive Health Information and Education. — The State shall provide women in
all sectors with appropriate, timely, complete, and accurate information and education on all
the above-stated aspects of women’s health in government education and training programs,
with due regard to the following:

(1) The natural and primary right and duty of parents in the rearing of the youth and the
development of moral character and the right of children to be brought up in an atmosphere
of morality and rectitude for the enrichment and strengthening of character;

(2) The formation of a person’s sexuality that affirms human dignity; and

(3) Ethical, legal, safe, and effective family planning methods including fertility awareness.

SECTION 18. Special Leave Benefits for Women. — A woman employee having rendered
continuous aggregate employment service of at least six (6) months for the last twelve (12)
months shall be entitled to a special leave benefit of two (2) months with full pay based on
her gross monthly compensation following surgery caused by gynecological disorders.

SECTION 19. Equal Rights in All Matters Relating to Marriage and Family Relations. — The
State shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in all
matters relating to marriage and family relations and shall ensure:

(a) the same rights to enter into and leave marriages or common law relationships referred
to under the Family Code without prejudice to personal or religious beliefs;

(b) the same rights to choose freely a spouse and to enter into marriage only with their free
and full consent. The betrothal and the marriage of a child shall have no legal effect;

(c) the joint decision on the number and spacing of their children and to have access to the
information, education and means to enable them to exercise these rights;

(d) the same personal rights between spouses or common law spouses including the right to
choose freely a profession and an occupation;

(e) the same rights for both spouses or common law spouses in respect of the ownership,
acquisition, management, administration, enjoyment, and disposition of property;

(f) the same rights to properties and resources, whether titled or not, and inheritance,
whether formal or customary; and

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(g) women shall have equal rights with men to acquire, change, or retain their nationality.
The State shall ensure in particular that neither marriage to an alien nor change of nationality
by the husband during marriage shall automatically change the nationality of the wife, render
her stateless or force upon her the nationality of the husband. Various statutes of other
countries concerning dual citizenship that may be enjoyed equally by women and men shall
likewise be considered.

Customary laws shall be respected: Provided, however, that they do not discriminate against
women.

CHAPTER V

Rights and Empowerment of Marginalized Sectors

Women in marginalized sectors are hereby guaranteed all civil, political, social, and
economic rights recognized, promoted, and protected under existing laws including, but not
limited to, the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act, the Urban Development and Housing Act, the
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law, the Fisheries Code, the Labor Code, the Migrant
Workers Act, the Solo Parents Welfare Act, and the Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation
Act.

SECTION 20. Food Security and Productive Resources. — The State recognizes the
contribution of women to food production and shall ensure its sustainability and sufficiency
with the active participation of women. Towards this end, the State shall guarantee, at all
times, the availability in the market of safe and health-giving food to satisfy the dietary needs
of the population, giving particular attention to the specific needs of poor girl-children and
marginalized women, especially pregnant and lactating mothers and their young children. To
further address this, the State shall ensure:

(a) Right to Food. — The State shall guarantee the availability of food in quantity and quality
sufficient to satisfy the dietary needs of individuals, the physical and economic accessibility
for everyone to adequate food that is culturally acceptable and free from unsafe substances
and culturally accepted, and the accurate and substantial information to the availability of
food, including the right to full, accurate, and truthful information about safe and health-giving
foods and how to produce and have regular and easy access to them;

(b) Right to Resources for Food Production. — The State shall guarantee women a vital role
in food production by giving priority to their rights to land, credit, and infrastructure support,
technical training, and technological and marketing assistance. The State shall promote
women-friendly technology as a high priority activity in agriculture and shall promote the right
to adequate food by proactively engaging in activities intended to strengthen access to,
utilization of, and receipt of accurate and substantial information on resources and means to
ensure women’s livelihood, including food security:

(1) Equal status shall be given to women and men, whether married or not, in the titling of
the land and issuance of stewardship contracts and patents;

(2) Equal treatment shall be given to women and men beneficiaries of the agrarian reform
program, wherein the vested right of a woman agrarian reform beneficiary is defined by a
woman’s relationship to tillage, i.e., her direct and indirect contribution to the development of
the land;

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(3) Customary rights of women to the land, including access to and control of the fruits and
benefits, shall be recognized in circumstances where private ownership is not possible, such
as ancestral domain claims;

(4) Information and assistance in claiming rights to the land shall be made available to
women at all times;

(5) Equal rights to women to the enjoyment, use, and management of land, water, and other
natural resources within their communities or ancestral domains;

(6) Equal access to the use and management of fisheries and aquatic resources, and all the
rights and benefits accruing to stakeholders in the fishing industry;

(7) Equal status shall be given to women and men in the issuance of stewardship or lease
agreements and other fishery rights that may be granted for the use and management of
coastal and aquatic resources. In the same manner, women’s organizations shall be given
equal treatment as with other marginalized fishers organizations in the issuance of
stewardship or lease agreements or other fishery rights for the use and management of such
coastal and aquatic resources which may include providing support to women-engaged
coastal resources;

(8) There shall be no discrimination against women in the deputization of fish wardens;

(9) Women-friendly and sustainable agriculture technology shall be designed based on

accessibility and viability in consultation with women’s organizations;

(10) Access to small farmer-based and controlled seeds production and distribution shall be
ensured and protected;

(11) Indigenous practices of women in seed storage and cultivation shall be recognized,
encouraged, and protected;

(12) Equal rights shall be given to women to be members of farmers’ organizations to ensure
wider access to and control of the means of production;

(13) Provide opportunities for empowering women fishers to be involved in the control and
management, not only of the catch and production of aquamarine resources but also, to
engage in entrepreneurial activities which will add value to production and marketing
ventures; and

(14) Provide economic opportunities for the indigenous women, particularly access to market
for their produce.

In the enforcement of the foregoing, the requirements of law shall be observed at all times.

SECTION 21. Right to Housing. — The State shall develop housing programs for women
that are localized, simple, accessible, with potable water, and electricity, secure, with viable
employment opportunities and affordable amortization. In this regard, the State shall consult
women and involve them in community planning and development, especially in matters
pertaining to land use, zoning, and relocation.

SECTION 22. Right to Decent Work. — The State shall progressively realize and ensure
decent work standards for women that involve the creation of jobs of acceptable quality in
conditions of freedom, equity, security, and human dignity.

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(a) Decent work involves opportunities for work that are productive and fairly remunerative
as family living wage, security in the workplace, and social protection for families, better
prospects for personal development and social integration, freedom for people to express
their concerns, organize, participate in the decisions that affect their lives, and equality of
opportunity and treatment for all women and men.

(b) The State shall further ensure:

(1) Support services and gears to protect them from occupational and health hazards taking
into account women’s maternal functions;

(2) Support services that will enable women to balance their family obligations and work
responsibilities including, but not limited to, the establishment of day care centers and
breast-feeding stations at the workplace, and providing maternity leave pursuant to the
Labor Code and other pertinent laws;

(3) Membership in unions regardless of status of employment and place of employment; and

(4) Respect for the observance of indigenous peoples’ cultural practices even in the
workplace.

(c) In recognition of the temporary nature of overseas work, the State shall exert all efforts to
address the causes of out-migration by developing local employment and other economic
opportunities for women and by introducing measures to curb violence and forced and
involuntary displacement of local women. The State shall ensure the protection and
promotion of the rights and welfare of migrant women regardless of their work status, and
protect them against discrimination in wages, conditions of work, and employment
opportunities in host countries.

SECTION 23. Right to Livelihood, Credit, Capital, and Technology. — The State shall ensure
that women are provided with the following:

(a) Equal access to formal sources of credit and capital;

(b) Equal share to the produce of farms and aquatic resources; and

(c) Employment opportunities for returning women migrant workers taking into account their
skills and qualifications. Corollarily, the State shall also promote skills and entrepreneurship
development of returning women migrant workers.

SECTION 24. Right to Education and Training. — The State shall ensure the following:

(a) Women migrant workers have the opportunity to undergo skills training, if they so desire,
before taking on a foreign job, and possible retraining upon return to the country;

(b) Gender-sensitive training and seminars; and

(c) Equal opportunities in scholarships based on merit and fitness, especially to those
interested in research and development aimed towards women-friendly farm technology.

SECTION 25. Right to Representation and Participation. — The State shall ensure women’s
participation in policy-making or decision-making bodies in the regional, national, and
international levels. It shall also ensure the participation of grassroots women leaders in
decision and policy-making bodies in their respective sectors including, but not limited to, the
Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC) and its local counterparts; community-based

GAD AWARENESS 14 | P a g e
resource management bodies or mechanisms on forest management and stewardship; the
National Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council (NFARMC) and its local
counterparts; the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples; the Presidential Commission
for the Urban Poor; the National Anti-Poverty Commission; and, where applicable, the local
housing boards.

SECTION 26. Right to Information. — Access to information regarding policies on women,

including programs, projects, and funding outlays that affect them, shall be ensured.

SECTION 27. Social Protection. —

(a) The Social Security System (SSS) and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation
(PhilHealth) shall support indigenous and community-based social protection schemes.

(b) The State shall institute policies and programs that seek to reduce the poverty and
vulnerability to risks and enhance the social status and rights of the marginalized women by
promoting and protecting livelihood and employment, protecting against hazards and sudden
loss of income, and improving people’s capacity to manage risks.

(c) The State shall endeavor to reduce and eventually eliminate transfer costs of remittances
from abroad through appropriate bilateral and multilateral agreements. It shall likewise
provide access to investment opportunities for remittances in line with national development
efforts.

(d) The State shall establish a health insurance program for senior citizens and indigents.

(e) The State shall support women with disabilities on a community-based social protection
scheme.

SECTION 28. Recognition and Preservation of Cultural Identity and Integrity. — The State
shall recognize and respect the rights of Moro and indigenous women to practice, promote,
protect, and preserve their own culture, traditions, and institutions and to consider these
rights in the formulation and implementation of national policies and programs. To this end,
the State shall adopt measures in consultation with the sectors concerned to protect their
rights to their indigenous knowledge systems and practices, traditional livelihood, and other
manifestations of their cultures and ways of life: Provided, That these cultural systems and
practices are not discriminatory to women.

SECTION 29. Peace and Development. — The peace process shall be pursued with the
following considerations:

(a) Increase the number of women participating in discussions and decision-making in the
peace process, including membership in peace panels recognizing women’s role in conflict-
prevention and peace-making and in indigenous system of conflict resolution;

(b) Ensure the development and inclusion of women’s welfare and concerns in the peace
agenda in the overall peace strategy and women’s participation in the planning,
implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of rehabilitation and rebuilding of conflict-
affected areas;

(c) The institution of measures to ensure the protection of civilians in conflict-affected

communities with special consideration for the specific needs of women and girls;

(d) Include the peace perspective in the education curriculum and other educational
undertakings; and

GAD AWARENESS 15 | P a g e
(e) The recognition and support for women’s role in conflict-prevention, management,
resolution and peacemaking, and in indigenous systems of conflict resolution.

SECTION 30. Women in Especially Difficult Circumstances. — For purposes of this Act,
“Women in Especially Difficult Circumstances” (WEDC) shall refer to victims and survivors of
sexual and physical abuse, illegal recruitment, prostitution, trafficking, armed conflict, women
in detention, victims and survivors of rape and incest, and such other related circumstances
which have incapacitated them functionally. Local government units are therefore mandated
to deliver the necessary services and interventions to WEDC under their respective
jurisdictions.

SECTION 31. Services and Interventions. — WEDC shall be provided with services and
interventions as necessary such as, but not limited to, the following:

(a) Temporary and protective custody;

(b) Medical and dental services;

(c) Psychological evaluation;

(d) Counseling;

(e) Psychiatric evaluation;

(f) Legal services:

(g) Productivity skills capability building;

(h) Livelihood assistance;

(i) Job placement;

(j) Financial assistance; and

(k) Transportation assistance.

SECTION 32. Protection of Girl-Children. — (a) The State shall pursue measures to
eliminate all forms of discrimination against girl-children in education, health and nutrition,
and skills development.

(b) Girl-children shall be protected from all forms of abuse and exploitation.

(c) Equal access of Moro and indigenous girl-children in the Madaris, schools of living culture
and traditions, and the regular schools shall be ensured.

(d) Gender-sensitive curriculum, including legal literacy, books, and curriculum in the
Madaris and schools of living culture and traditions shall be developed.

(e) Sensitivity of regular schools to particular Moro and indigenous practices, such as fasting
in the month of Ramadan, choice of clothing (including the wearing of hijab), and availability
of halal food shall be ensured.

SECTION 33. Protection of Senior Citizens. — The State shall protect women senior citizens
from neglect, abandonment, domestic violence, abuse, exploitation, and discrimination.

GAD AWARENESS 16 | P a g e
Towards this end, the State shall ensure special protective mechanisms and support
services against violence, sexual abuse, exploitation, and discrimination of older women.

SECTION 34. Women are entitled to the recognition and protection of their rights defined
and guaranteed under this Act including their right to nondiscrimination.

SECTION 35. Discrimination Against Women is Prohibited. — Public and private entities
and individuals found to have committed discrimination against women shall be subject to
the sanctions provided in Section 41 hereof. Violations of other rights of women shall be
subject to sanctions under pertinent laws and regulations.

CHAPTER VI

Institutional Mechanisms

SECTION 36. Gender Mainstreaming as a Strategy for Implementing the Magna Carta of
Women. — Within a period prescribed in the implementing rules and regulations, the
National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW) shall assess its gender
mainstreaming program for consistency with the standards under this Act. It shall modify the
program accordingly to ensure that it will be an effective strategy for implementing this Act
and attaining its objectives.

All departments, including their attached agencies, offices, bureaus, state universities and
colleges, government-owned and -controlled corporations, local government units, and other
government instrumentalities shall adopt gender mainstreaming as a strategy to promote
women’s human rights and eliminate gender discrimination in their systems, structures,
policies, programs, processes, and procedures which shall include, but not limited to, the
following:

(a) Planning, budgeting, monitoring and evaluation for GAD. GAD programs addressing
gender issues and concerns shall be designed and implemented based on the mandate of
government agencies and local government units, Republic Act No. 7192, gender equality
agenda of the government and other GAD-related legislation, policies, and commitments.
The development of GAD programs shall proceed from the conduct of a gender audit of the
agency or the local government unit and a gender analysis of its policies, programs, services
and the situation of its clientele; the generation and review of sex-disaggregated data; and
consultation with gender/women’s rights advocates and agency/women clientele. The cost of
implementing GAD programs shall be the agency’s or the local government unit’s GAD
budget which shall be at least five percent (5%) of the agency’s or the local government
unit’s total budget appropriations.

Pursuant to Republic Act No. 7192, otherwise known as the Women in Development and
Nation Building Act, which allocates five percent (5%) to thirty percent (30%) of overseas
development assistance to GAD, government agencies receiving official development
assistance should ensure the allocation and proper utilization of such funds to gender-
responsive programs that complement the government GAD funds and annually report
accomplishments thereof to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and
the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW).

The utilization and outcome of the GAD budget shall be annually monitored and evaluated in
terms of its success in influencing the gender-responsive implementation of agency
programs funded by the remaining ninety-five percent (95%) budget.

The Commission on Audit (COA) shall conduct an annual audit on the use of the GAD
budget for the purpose of determining its judicious use and the efficiency, and effectiveness
of interventions in addressing gender issues towards the realization of the objectives of the

GAD AWARENESS 17 | P a g e
country’s commitments, plans, and policies on women empowerment, gender equality, and
GAD.

Local government units are also encouraged to develop and pass a GAD Code based on the
gender issues and concerns in their respective localities based on consultation with their
women constituents and the women’s empowerment and gender equality agenda of the
government. The GAD Code shall also serve as basis for identifying programs, activities,
and projects on GAD.

Where needed, temporary gender equity measures shall be provided for in the plans of all
departments, including their attached agencies, offices, bureaus, state universities and
colleges, government-owned and -controlled corporations, local government units, and other
government instrumentalities.

To move towards a more sustainable, gender-responsive, and performance-based planning

and budgeting, gender issues and concerns shall be integrated in, among others, the
following plans:

(1) Macro socioeconomic plans such as the Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan and
Medium-Term Philippine Investment Plan;

(2) Annual plans of all departments, including their attached agencies, offices, bureaus, state
universities and colleges, and government-owned and -controlled corporations; and

(3) Local plans and agenda such as executive-legislative agenda, comprehensive

development plan (CDP), comprehensive land use plan (CLUP), provincial development and
physical framework plan (PDPFP), and annual investment plan.

(b) Creation and/or Strengthening of the GAD Focal Points (GFP). All departments,
including their attached agencies, offices, bureaus, state universities and colleges,
government-owned and -controlled corporations, local government units, and other
government instrumentalities shall establish or strengthen their GAD Focal Point System or
similar GAD mechanism to catalyze and accelerate gender mainstreaming within the agency
or local government unit.

The GAD Focal Point System shall be composed of the agency head or local chief
executive, an executive committee with an Undersecretary (or its equivalent), local
government unit official, or office in a strategic decision-making position as Chair; and a
technical working group or secretariat which is composed of representatives from various
divisions or offices within the agency or local government unit.

The tasks and functions of the members of the GFP shall form part of their regular key result
areas and shall be given due consideration in their performance evaluation.

(c) Generation and Maintenance of GAD Database. All departments, including their attached
agencies, offices, bureaus, state universities and colleges, government-owned and -
controlled corporations, local government units, and other government instrumentalities shall
develop and maintain a GAD database containing gender statistics and sex-disaggregated
data that have been systematically gathered, regularly updated, and subjected to gender
analysis for planning, programming, and policy formulation.

SECTION 37. Gender Focal Point Officer in Philippine Embassies and Consulates. — An
officer duly trained on GAD shall be designated as the gender focal point in the consular
section of Philippine embassies or consulates. Said officer shall be primarily responsible in
handling gender concerns of women migrant workers. Attached agencies shall cooperate in

GAD AWARENESS 18 | P a g e
strengthening the Philippine foreign posts’ programs for the delivery of services to women
migrant workers.

SECTION 38. National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW). — The
National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW) shall be renamed as the
Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), the primary policy-making and coordinating body
of the women and gender equality concerns under the Office of the President. The PCW
shall be the overall monitoring body and oversight to ensure the implementation of this Act.
In doing so, the PCW may direct any government agency and instrumentality, as may be
necessary, to report on the implementation of this Act and for them to immediately respond
to the problems brought to their attention in relation to this Act. The PCW shall also lead in
ensuring that government agencies are capacitated on the effective implementation of this
Act. The chairperson shall likewise report to the President in Cabinet meetings on the
implementation of this Act.

To the extent possible, the PCW shall influence the systems, processes, and procedures of
the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government vis-à-vis GAD to ensure the
implementation of this Act.

To effectively and efficiently undertake and accomplish its functions, the PCW shall revise its
structure and staffing pattern with the assistance of the Department of Budget and
Management.

SECTION 39. Commission on Human Rights (CHR). — The Commission, acting as the
Gender and Development Ombud, consistent with its mandate, shall undertake measures
such as the following:

(a) Monitor with the PCW and other state agencies, among others, in developing indicators
and guidelines to comply with their duties related to the human rights of women, including
their right to nondiscrimination guaranteed under this Act;

(b) Designate one (1) commissioner and/or its Women’s Human Rights Center to be
primarily responsible for formulating and implementing programs and activities related to the
promotion and protection of the human rights of women, including the investigations and
complaints of discrimination and violations of their rights brought under this Act and related
laws and regulations;

(c) Establish guidelines and mechanisms, among others, that will facilitate access of women
to legal remedies under this Act and related laws, and enhance the protection and promotion
of the rights of women, especially marginalized women;

(d) Assist in the filing of cases against individuals, agencies, institutions, or establishments
that violate the provisions of this Act; and

(e) Recommend to the President of the Philippines or the Civil Service Commission any
possible administrative action based on noncompliance or failure to implement the
provisions of this Act.

SECTION 40. Monitoring Progress and Implementation and Impact of this Act. — The PCW,
in coordination with other state agencies and the CHR, shall submit to Congress regular
reports on the progress of the implementation of this Act highlighting the impact thereof on
the status and human rights of women: Provided, That the second report shall include an
assessment of the effectiveness of this Act and recommend amendments to improve its
provisions: Provided, finally, That these reports shall be submitted to Congress every three
(3) years or as determined in the implementing rules and regulations.

GAD AWARENESS 19 | P a g e
SECTION 41. Penalties. — Upon finding of the CHR that a department, agency, or
instrumentality of government, government-owned and -controlled corporation, or local
government unit has violated any provision of this Act and its implementing rules and
regulations, the sanctions under administrative law, civil service, or other appropriate laws
shall be recommended to the Civil Service Commission and/or the Department of the Interior
and Local Government. The person directly responsible for the violation as well as the head
of the agency or local chief executive shall be held liable under this Act.

If the violation is committed by a private entity or individual, the person directly responsible
for the violation shall be liable to pay damages.

Filing a complaint under this Act shall not preclude the offended party from pursuing other
remedies available under the law and to invoke any of the provisions of existing laws
especially those recently enacted laws protecting women and children, including the Women
in Development and Nation Building Act (Republic Act No. 7192), the Special Protection of
Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act (Republic Act No. 7610),
the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995 (Republic Act No. 7877), the Anti-Rape Law of
1997 (Republic Act No. 8353), the Rape Victim Assistance and Protection Act of 1998
(Republic Act No. 8505), the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 (Republic Act No. 9208)
and the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004 (Republic Act No.
9262). If violence has been proven to be perpetrated by agents of the State including, but
not limited to, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture, and internal
displacements, such shall be considered aggravating offenses with corresponding penalties
depending on the severity of the offenses.

SECTION 42. Incentives and Awards. — There shall be established an incentives and
awards system which shall be administered by a board under such rules and regulations as
may be promulgated by the PCW to deserving entities, government agencies, and local
government units for their outstanding performance in upholding the rights of women and
effective implementation of gender-responsive programs.

SECTION 43. Funding. — The initial funding requirements for the implementation of this Act
shall be charged against the current appropriations of the agencies concerned. Thereafter,
such sums as may be necessary for the implementation of this Act shall be included in the
agencies’ yearly budgets under the General Appropriations Act.

The State shall prioritize allocation of all available resources to effectively fulfill its obligations
specified under this Act. The State agencies GAD budgets, which shall be at least five
percent (5%) of their total budgetary allocation, shall also be utilized for the programs and
activities to implement this Act.

SECTION 44. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — As the lead agency, the PCW shall,
in coordination with the Commission on Human Rights and all concerned government
departments and agencies including, as observers, both Houses of Congress through the
Committee on Youth, Women and Family Relations (Senate) and the Committee on Women
and Gender Equality (House of Representatives) and with the participation of
representatives from nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and civil society groups with
proven track record of involvement and promotion of the rights and welfare of Filipino women
and girls identified by the PCW, formulate the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of
this Act within one hundred eighty (180) days after its effectivity.

SECTION 45. Separability Clause. — If any provision or part hereof is held invalid or
unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provisions not otherwise affected shall
remain valid and subsisting.

GAD AWARENESS 20 | P a g e
SECTION 46. Repealing Clause. — Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive
order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule, or regulation contrary to, or inconsistent
with, the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed, modified, or amended accordingly.

SECTION 47. Effectivity Clause. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved: August 14, 2009

UNDERSTANDING SEX AND GENDER

Gender as a Social Construction

If sex is a biological concept, then gender is a social concept. It refers to the social and
cultural differences a society assigns to people based on their (biological) sex. A related
concept, gender roles, refers to a society’s expectations of people’s behavior and attitudes
based on whether they are females or males. How we think and behave as females and
males is not etched in stone by our biology but rather is a result of how society expects us to
think and behave based on what sex we are. As we grow up, we learn these expectations as
we develop our gender identity, or our beliefs about ourselves as females or males.

These expectations are called femininity and masculinity. Femininity refers to the cultural
expectations we have of girls and women, while masculinity refers to the expectations we
have of boys and men. A familiar nursery rhyme nicely summarizes these two sets of traits:

What are little boys made of?

Snips and snails,

And puppy dog tails,

That’s what little boys are made of.

What are little girls made of?

Sugar and spice,

And everything nice,

That’s what little girls are made of.

As this nursery rhyme suggests, our traditional notions of femininity and masculinity indicate
that we think females and males are fundamentally different from each other. In effect, we
think of them as two sides of the same coin of being human. What we traditionally mean by
femininity is captured in the adjectives, both positive and negative, we traditionally ascribe to
women: gentle, sensitive, nurturing, delicate, graceful, cooperative, decorative, dependent,
emotional, passive, and weak. Thus when we say that a girl or woman is very feminine, we
have some combination of these traits, usually the positive ones, in mind: she is soft, dainty,
pretty, even a bit flighty. What we traditionally mean by masculinity is captured in the
adjectives, again both positive and negative, our society traditionally ascribes to men: strong,
assertive, brave, active, independent, intelligent, competitive, insensitive, unemotional, and
aggressive. When we say that a boy or man is very masculine, we have some combination
of these traits in mind: he is tough, strong, and assertive.

GAD AWARENESS 21 | P a g e
 Infant girls traditionally wear pink, while infant boys wear blue. This color difference reflects
the different cultural expectations we have for babies based on their (biological) sex.

These traits might sound like stereotypes of females and males in today’s society, and to
some extent they are, but differences between men and women in attitudes and behavior do
in fact exist (Aulette, Wittner, & Blakeley, 2009). For example, women cry more often than
men do. Men are more physically violent than women. Women take care of children more
than men do. Women smile more often than men. Men curse more often than women. When
women talk with each other, they are more likely to talk about their personal lives than men
are when they talk with each other (Tannen, 2001). The two sexes even differ when they
hold a cigarette (not that anyone should smoke). When a woman holds a cigarette, she
usually has the palm of her cigarette-holding hand facing upward. When a man holds a
cigarette, he usually has his palm facing downward.

Sexual Orientation

Sexual orientation refers to a person’s preference for sexual relationships with individuals of
the other sex (heterosexuality), one’s own sex (homosexuality), or both sexes (bisexuality).
The term also increasingly refers to transgendered individuals, those whose behavior,
appearance, and/or gender identity fails to conform to conventional norms. Transgendered
individuals include transvestites (those who dress in the clothing of the opposite sex)
and transsexuals (those whose gender identity differs from the physiological sex and who
sometimes undergo a sex change).

It is difficult to know precisely how many people are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered.
One problem is conceptual. For example, what does it mean to be gay or lesbian? Does one
need to actually have sexual relations with a same-sex partner to be considered gay? What
if someone is attracted to same-sex partners but does not actually engage in sex with such
persons? What if someone identifies as heterosexual but engages in homosexual sex for
money (as in certain forms of prostitution) or for power and influence (as in much prison
sex)? These conceptual problems make it difficult to determine the extent of homosexuality.

GAD AWARENESS 22 | P a g e
A second problem is empirical. Even if we can settle on a definition of homosexuality, how
do we then determine how many people fit this definition? For better or worse, our best
evidence of the number of gays and lesbians in the United States comes from surveys of
national samples of Americans in which they are asked various questions about their
sexuality. Although these are anonymous surveys, obviously at least some individuals may
be reluctant to disclose their sexual activity and thoughts to an interviewer. Still, scholars
think the estimates from these surveys are fairly accurate but that they probably
underestimate by at least a small amount the number of gays and lesbians.

If it is difficult to determine the number of people who are gay/lesbian or bisexual, it is even
more difficult to determine why some people have this sexual orientation while most do not
have it. Scholars disagree on the “causes” of sexual orientation (Engle, McFalls, Gallagher,
& Curtis, 2006; Sheldon, Pfeffer, Jayaratne, Feldbaum, & Petty, 2007). Some scholars
attribute it to unknown biological factor(s) over which individuals have no control, just as
individuals do not decide whether they are left-handed or right-handed. Supporting this view,
many gays say they realized they were gay during adolescence, just as straights would say
they realized they were straight during their own adolescence. Other scholars say that
sexual orientation is at least partly influenced by cultural norms, so that individuals are more
likely to identify as gay or straight depending on the cultural views of sexual orientation into
which they are socialized as they grow up. At best, perhaps all we can say is that sexual
orientation stems from a complex mix of biological and cultural factors that remain to be
determined.

The Development of Gender Differences

What accounts for differences in female and male behavior and attitudes? Do the biological
differences between the sexes account for other differences? Or do these latter differences
stem, as most sociologists think, from cultural expectations and from differences in the ways
in which the sexes are socialized? These are critical questions, for they ask whether the
differences between boys and girls and women and men stem more from biology or from
society. If we think behavioral and other differences between the sexes are due primarily to
their respective biological makeups, we are saying that these differences are inevitable or
nearly so and that any attempt to change them goes against biology and will likely fail.

As an example, consider the obvious biological fact that women bear and nurse children and
men do not. Couple this with the common view that women are also more gentle and
nurturing than men, and we end up with a “biological recipe” for women to be the primary
caretakers of children. Many people think this means women are therefore much better
suited than men to take care of children once they are born, and that the family might be
harmed if mothers work outside the home or if fathers are the primary caretakers. Figure 1
“Belief That Women Should Stay at Home” shows that more than one-third of the public
agrees that “it is much better for everyone involved if the man is the achiever outside the
home and the woman takes care of the home and family.” To the extent this belief exists,
women may not want to work outside the home or, if they choose to do so, they face
difficulties from employers, family, and friends. Conversely, men may not even think about
wanting to stay at home and may themselves face difficulties from employees, family, and
friends if they want to do so. A belief in a strong biological basis for differences between
women and men implies, then, that there is little we can or should do to change these
differences. It implies that “anatomy is destiny,” and destiny is, of course, by definition
inevitable.

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Figure 1 Belief That Women Should Stay at Home

Agreement or disagreement with statement that “it is much better for everyone involved if the
man is the achiever outside the home and the woman takes care of the home and family.”

Source: Data from General Social Survey, 2008.

This implication makes it essential to understand the extent to which gender differences do,
in fact, stem from biological differences between the sexes or, instead, stem from cultural
and social influences. If biology is paramount, then gender differences are perhaps
inevitable and the status quo will remain. If culture and social influences matter much more
than biology, then gender differences can change and the status quo may give way. With
this backdrop in mind, let’s turn to the biological evidence for behavioral and other
differences between the sexes and then examine the evidence for their social and cultural
roots.

Culture and Gender

Some of the most compelling evidence against a strong biological determination of gender
roles comes from anthropologists, whose work on preindustrial societies demonstrates some
striking gender variation from one culture to another. This variation underscores the impact
of culture on how females and males think and behave.

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Men primarily performed these tasks in some societies, women primarily performed them in
other societies, and in still other societies both sexes performed them equally. Figure 2
“Gender Responsibility for Weaving” shows the gender responsibility for yet another task,
weaving. Women are the primary weavers in about 61% of the societies that do weaving,
men are the primary weavers in 32%, and both sexes do the weaving in 7% of the societies.
Murdock’s findings illustrate how gender roles differ from one culture to another and imply
they are not biologically determined.

Figure 2 Gender Responsibility for Weaving

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GENDER BIAS AND MANIFESTATION

Marginalization: (Economic)

 The process which forces women out:

- Into the periphery of economic and social life
- On the periphery of decision-making process
- As well as diminishing the value of the activities in which they engage and through
which they contribute to the national development process.
 Under or non-valuation/recognition of Women’s work
 Women have less access to and control over resources and benefits
 Unequal pay for work of equal value
- Last to be hired, first to be fired
- Limited opportunities
- Exacting sexual favors

The vision; what should be:

 Equal pay for work of equal value

 Economic independence
 Economic opportunities

Subordination: (Political)

One sex is inferior to the other; gender subordination is the institutionalized domination by
men of women

 Position – every women in politics and top positions

 Status – weaker sex
 Decision making – women are not included in planning and decision-making
processes

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  Process of socialization

Subordination

Women Men

- Weak - strong
- Oppressed - dominate
- Followers - leaders
- Second class - first class
- Owned - owner

The vision: what should be:

 Quality participation in decision-making

 Recognition of capabilities

Multiple Burden

Involvement in the three spheres of work; reproductive; productive and community work.

 Parenting
 Housework
 Community work
 Work in the public sphere/informal sector

Gender division of Labor

- The assignment of tasks and roles to men and women on account sex

The vision: what should be:

 Shared parenting
 Shared housework
 Shared breadwinning

Gender Stereotypes

- Fixed, unquestioned beliefs or images we carry in the back of our minds

- About women and men
- Transmitted from generation to generation

Gender Stereotyping – is defined as the beliefs humans hold about the characteristics
associated with males and females.

Problems in Gender Stereotyping

 When characteristics associated with a particular gender have a negative image.

 When a unique individual is assumed to have all the characteristics associated with
his/her gender.

- The process of attributing a set of characteristics, roles and traits, favorable or

unfavorable, to all members of a social group based on sex.
o Child rearing

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 o Religion
o Occupations
o Education
o Language
o Behavior
o Government programs
o Media
o Popular culture

The vision; what should be:

 Liberation from stereotyped images

 Non-sexist child rearing
 Non-sexist language

Violence Against Women

- Acts of instilling fear and inflicting pain with aim to injure, or abuse a person usually
women.

Verbal, psychological and physical forms of violence:

 Jokes
 Wolf-whistles
 Peeking
 “chancing” or making sexual passes
 Sexual harassment
 Domestic violence
 Rape
 Prostitution
 Commodification – the act of treating women as a commodity or object and not as a
person

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The vision; what should be:

 Freedom from violence

 Freedom from harassment
 Effects on personhood
 Personhood development – self-esteem
 Control over one’s body

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GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT IMPLEMENTATION IN THE ARMY

Gender Equality in the Military

Published by admin on July 25, 2019

How the Philippine Army promotes gender and development

The role and place of women in the military have constantly dominated public debates and
discussions particularly about military readiness.

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Apparently, integrating women into the military has not only compromised the readiness of
military units in a way, but also the well-being of women in general. Accordingly, women are
four times as likely to be excused from assigned deployments due to monthly periods,
perimenstrual syndrome (PMS), and pregnancy.

Women in the Army are granted maternity and special leaves to be with their children and
families on special occasions.

Headquarters Philippine Army offer a Child Care Facility that helps military and civilian
employees in their child-rearing responsibilities as they perform their duties. It ensures the
quality and safety measures that is critical in protecting and promoting children’s
development.

As for pregnancy and monthly periods, the Philippine Army adheres to the AFP policy on
marriage, pregnancy, and maternity leave of female military personnel in the active service.

Pregnant female military personnel whose duties include physically strenuous activities are
exempted from performing such upon recommendation and certification by the attending
physicians or military medical officer.

“She is allowed to resume their duties only when she is physically fit.

Other than those mentioned, women are also afforded the same leave privileges as men
because the Army promotes the need to have a balance work and family life among its
troops.

Addressing gender issues

Traditional attitudes still make many people frown upon the idea of women fighting and the
image of mothers coming home in military uniforms.

In order to address gender issues, the Philippine Army created its Gender and Development
(GAD) office in 2014 to promote women’s rights and gender equality.

“One way to do this is through the conduct of trainings and seminars for all the members of
the Army on topics that are relevant to GAD, as well as the release of guidelines that support
the National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security.

In case there are violence against women, such cases are treated with utmost confidentiality
under the Office of the Ethical Standard and Public Accountability. The Philippine Army
adheres to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) policy in the disposition of domestic-
related offenses of AFP personnel.

Women soldiers are also encouraged to report violence against them through the Gender-
Based Violence Referral System (GBVRS) established in 2015 where in the Army units and
offices under the GBVRS network are mandated to establish a Gender-Based Violence
(GBV) desk equipped with an interview room, database of cases, and other equipment.

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“Through the GBVRS, women are given the channel where they can raise issues on
violence or harassment and have their cases be dealt with by proper authorities”

Women in the military

Although women were initially granted the right to serve in the military as part of the
Women’s Auxiliary Corps in 1963, it was only 1993 when women were granted the rights to
become trained combat soldiers in the Philippine military by virtue of Republic Act No. 7192.
Thus, the integration of first female cadets to Philippine Military Academy.

Of the 17 female cadets who reported in 1993, only seven graduated in 1997 along with their
male classmates. The Magnificent Seven were Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Ma. Consuelo
Nunag Castillo, Army Lieutenant Colonel Leah Lorenzo-Santiago, Navy Commander
Marissa Arlene Andres-Martinez, Army Lieutenant Colonel Maria Victoria Blancaflor-
Agoncillo, Sheryl Uy-Cabasan, Arlene Orejana-Trillanes, and Aileen Somera-Reyes.

These women accepted the challenge, refused to accept the status quo, and paved the way
for the next generation of female PMA graduates. From 1997 to 2018, 451 female cadets
have already graduated in PMA.

Five percent of the allotted Candidate Soldier (CS) quota to respective Philippine Army
major units is allocated to female recruits. At present, it has already complied with the
Magna Carta for Women (MCW) to have 20 percent women soldiers in the ranks.

To make sure there is no special treatment/favors in women, the Philippine Army

implements a policy that prescribes the guidelines and procedures in the utilization of female
line personnel in the PA.

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“Consistent with the needs and demand of the military profession, its female personnel are
accorded with equal opportunities for appointment, admission, training, promotion, etc., in
accordance with the standards required for such activities except those minimum essential
adjustments,” he stressed.

The Philippine Army also ensures the equality of women and men in the organization
especially in occupying key positions.

“Their assignments on key positions are based on the same qualification applied to male
officers. As long as they have the skills, training and physical abilities needed for the
position, they will be given the post”.

At present, the statistics of women soldiers in the Philippine Army include 829 officers, 3,438
enlisted personnel, seven provisionary 2nd Lieutenant, and 12 CS, which is 4.38 percent of
the entire Army soldiers.

Of the total officer attrition rate, 5.37 percent are females who availed optional retirement. Of
the total EP attrition rate, 0.63 percent are females who availed optional retirement as well.

“Consistent with the needs and demand of the military profession, its female
personnel are accorded with equal opportunities for appointment, admission, training,
promotion, etc.”

Prepared By:

CPT MARIO A PRINCER PA (RES)

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