METRO BRIEFS: Aug. 20, 2019

‘Sexist men are the problem, not trans women’

MANILA, Philippines — Women’s rights advocates on Monday said Filipinos should not deny transgender women their basic rights in the guise of protecting women from sexual assault.

This was in reaction to highly charged discussions following the arrest of transgender woman Gretchen Diez for trying to use a women’s restroom at a Quezon City mall.

There were debates over whether someone like Diez should be allowed to use women’s lavatories with some arguing that this could be exploited by sexual predators and voyeurs.

But for Dr. Nathalie Africa-Verceles, director of the University of the Philippines Center for Women’s and Gender Studies, this argument merely stressed that “trans women are not the problem —it is men who are sexist and misogynist.”

“We know for a fact that male sexual predators and harassers do not go to the extreme lengths of presenting themselves as women to commit acts of violence against women,” Verceles said. “They commit these acts regardless of whether they are in public or private spaces.”

She added that Filipinos need to be more concerned about the safety of trans women, as they were equally vulnerable.

“[Trans women] are women, too, because our femininity is rooted in our gender identity,” said Naomi Fontanos of Lagablab Network. “But we are not saying that our femininity is the same.” —Krixia Subingsubing

14 UP campuses to join ‘Day of Walkout and Action’

MANILA, Philippines — The University of the Philippines (UP) will hold a nationwide “Day of Walkout and Action” today, Aug. 20, in what is anticipated to be a massive show of force against the insistence of the police on gaining access to school campuses.

Students from all 14 UP campuses are expected to join the protest, as announced by UP student regent John Isaac Punzalan last week.

“UP and our academic freedom, the lifeblood of our university, are under threat,” the Office of the Student Regent said on Monday in a call to UP alumni to support the walkouts. “The police and military are trying to intervene in our campuses and we shall not let that happen.” —Matthew Reysio-Cruz