‘CELEBRATE THAT’ | UK Ambassador to the Philippines Laure Beaufils says the country is fortunate to have strong women leaders. —GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
MANILA, Philippines — As the Philippines joined the ongoing international commemoration of the 16 Days of Activism to eliminate violence against women, British Ambassador Laure Beaufils called for a “zero-tolerance” approach to all forms of gender-based violence, including misogynistic attacks on women journalists, especially online.
In a recent interview with the Inquirer, Beaufils stressed the need to stand up to the “incredibly violent, sexualized language and threats used against women and women journalists, in particular on social media.”
“It’s not okay for men to attack women in the most hateful, violent and aggressive fashion while hiding in anonymity,” she said. “These have lasting consequences on the women [who] are victims even if it is online.”
Beaufils noted that the Philippines was fortunate to have strong women in power who also champion women’s causes, and urged Filipinos to “celebrate that and not take that for granted.”
She said the United Kingdom would continue to support women-centered programs and projects, and “talk about these things and… shine a light on these issues.”
Most pervasive violation
The annual commemoration of the 16 Days of Activism campaign from Nov. 25 to Dec. 10 seeks to raise awareness on gender-based violence and encourage improved legislation to end violence against women.
Nov. 25 marks International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women while Dec. 10 is Human Rights Day.
The United Nations said violence against women and girls remains the most pervasive human rights violation, even 41 years after the first International Day for the
Elimination of Violence Against Women was introduced in 1981.
In the Philippines alone, despite laws protecting women and children, one in four women still experience gender-based violence, with 41 percent opting not to seek help.
While there has been some improvement on several fronts, the world “hasn’t made any progress as the numbers [on violence against women] are pretty much still the same over the past 10 years,” Beaufils noted.
Even now, one in every three women worldwide still experiences some form of violence in her life.
Beaufils said poor legislation and enforcement, as well as prevailing gender norms and stereotypes, hinder the world from fully eradicating gender-based violence.
Burden on women
Governments must have a strong political will and “lead by example,” by pushing legislation and services that empower women, she added.
She said the UK has adopted several strategies targeting prevention, enforcement, and victim support to help drive down violence against women.
But there is still “a need for a contextualized approach as the response would be different in different countries,” Beaufils said.
“We now know what it takes to address gender-based violence in different contexts. But all of the ones that work have at their core gender transformative elements, where you transform understanding of gender and norms,” she said.
This means ensuring that there is no gender stereotyping in school books and in the curriculum, as well as involving men in discussions and having them speak out against violence against women.
Beaufils lamented how the burden of challenging gender-based violence has fallen on women, when “every single man can play a role just by not laughing at sexist jokes, [and start] saying no to anything that is discriminatory to women.”
Governments must also empower women politically, economically, and socially and maintain victim support so they could challenge their abusers before the courts, she said.
“There’s still this pernicious sense that it’s still women’s fault and women’s guilt,” Beaufils said, referring to how women often don’t report abuse for fear they would not be taken seriously.