Hontiveros urges passage of SOGIE Bill after trans woman’s arrest in mall
MANILA, Philippines — A transgender woman’s arrest after she was denied entry to a women’s comfort room in a mall in Quezon City prompted Senator Risa Hontiveros to call the passage of Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Gender Expression (SOGIE) Equality Bill.
Hontiveros, who is author of the proposed measure in the Senate, said the incident shows what members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA+) community face every day.
“Sa mga nagsasabing hindi na natin kailangan ng SOGIE Equality Law kasi tanggap na naman ang LGBT sa Pinas: A trans woman has just been humiliated in a mall restroom in Cubao,” Hontiveros said in a Twitter post Tuesday.
“Pinosasan at dinala sa Karingal! LGBT persons face harassment & discrimination every day. This must stop!” she added.
Sa mga nagsasabing hindi na natin kailangan ng SOGIE Equality Law kasi tanggap na naman ang LGBT sa Pinas: A trans woman has just been humiliated in a mall restroom in Cubao. Pinosasan at dinala sa Karingal! LGBT persons face harassment & discrimination every day. This must stop! https://t.co/B44TN9hKC2
— risa hontiveros (@risahontiveros) August 13, 2019
Gretchen Diez, 28, was arrested Tuesday afternoon for unjust vexation after she documented how she was denied entry by a janitress from entering a women’s comfort room in a mall in Cubao.
Article continues after this advertisementREAD: Transgender woman in women’s comfort room causes stir in QC mall
Article continues after this advertisementDiez, however, was released the same day after the janitress apologized and backed out from filing the unjust vexation case.
“What happened to Gretchen is unacceptable because the mall wanted her to violate how she self-identifies. The incident exposed her to harassment & abuse that could have happened if forced to enter the men’s CR. Iihi ka lang sana,pero dahil transgender person ka,kulong. Unfair,” Hontiveros said in a separate post Wednesday.
What happened to Gretchen is unacceptable because the mall wanted her to violate how she self-identifies. The incident exposed her to harassment & abuse that could have happened if forced to enter the men’s CR.
Iihi ka lang sana,pero dahil transgender person ka,kulong. Unfair.
— risa hontiveros (@risahontiveros) August 14, 2019
Hontiveros had refiled the SOGIE Bill at the 18th Congress. The House of Representatives approved the bill in 2017, but the Senate version experienced delays during the period of interpellation. /je
READ: Hontiveros makes fresh bid to push SOGIE bill
