Sexual Harassment: A Timely and Pertinent Issue

Screengrab from Rappler.com

CHEERS TO Rappler for tackling sexual harassment in a report that reminded readers it is a crime under Philippine laws.

Rappler’s “The many faces of sexual harassment in PH,” published on June 4, recalled the definition of sexual harassment in Republic Act 7877, the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995, which classifies the crime as work-related, or committed in an employment, education or training environment. It also enumerated the different forms of the offense as noted by the Civil Service Commission Resolution Number 01-0940, a set of administrative rules for government employees, and Davao City’s own Women Development Code, which was adopted by the City Council on October 28, 2003 and subsequently signed by then Mayor Rodrigo Duterte into an ordinance.

The report also highlighted the vulnerability of women to sexual harassment by citing Republic Act 9262, or the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004, which categorizes sexual harassment as a form of violence against women.

The report came three days after Duterte whistled at GMA-7 reporter Mariz Umali during a press conference in Davao City on May 31. Many were quick to take the tough-talking Duterte’s side, dismissing the criticisms. Duterte later claimed that he did not intend anything sexual by his action; he also invoked freedom of expression.

Not long after that, in a press conference on June 2, Rappler’s Pia Ranada asked Duterte about the incident and cited the Women Development Code of Davao City in pointing out that his action can be considered sexual harassment under that code, which meant the president-elect himself violated his own law. Duterte defended himself and said it was not sexual harassment because what he did was not sexually suggestive. A short back and forth ensued, with Ranada’s final retort that whistling at Umali might still be “sexual harassment” to other people since “the world does not revolve around [Duterte’s] definition” of the term.

As that incident showed, Rappler’s report was both timely and relevant but also served as a reminder that these sexual harassment laws are too often honored more in the breach in a patriarchal society like the Philippines, even by the leaders who passed them.

It is a pertinent issue that needs to be tackled by the press through effective and vigilant reporting.