Hontiveros, female senators push for ‘gender-responsive’ health protocols

Women wear masks as a precautionary measure against the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus in Manila on March 13, 2020 (File Photo by Maria TAN / AFP)

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Risa Hontiveros and other female senators are set to file a bill calling for “gender-responsive” protocols to address the needs of women during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A press statement from Hontiveros’ office on Sunday read that she along with other female senators are “set to file a bill for gender-responsive and inclusive protocols to address the gender-differentiated needs of women during COVID-19, and other public health concerns, emergencies, and disasters.”

Hontiveros, Chair of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality, said that women and the “bayanihan” spirit are key to recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Babae at bayanihan ang dapat maghari para tunay na makabangon ang pamilyang Pilipino (The women and “bayanaihan” should rule so that Filipino families would genuinely recover). The pandemic only exacerbated the multiple burdens women already carry. If we want to wholly recover from this crisis, we need to band together to better support our women,” she said.

Hontiveros said that empowerment and support for women are particularly needed during a health crisis, citing findings by the World Health Organization that 70 percent of the health and social workforce is made up of women.

She also cited a 2019 analysis of WHO wherein it emphasized that investments in the health workforce could lead to women’s economic empowerment. She added that while the majority of healthcare workers are women, they earn 28 percent less than men on average.

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