What do Hollywood actress Reese Witherspoon and the president of a progressive Benedictine Sisters-run school in Manila have in common?
Both are staunch advocates of women’s rights, that’s what.
The two women, outstanding in their own fields, joined over 1,400 delegates from all over the world in Washington, D.C. from Feb. 27 to March 1 for the 2nd World Conference of Women’s Shelters with a common mission in mind: To end domestic violence against women.
Of this large delegation, only one Filipino came all the way from the Philippines. Sister Mary John Mananzan, named one of the Top 100 Most Inspiring People in the World, was sent by Avon Philippines to attend the four-day conference on behalf of one of her many women’s advocacy groups, the Women’s Crisis Center (WCC).
Some of the world’s most recognized public figures and personalities, including former US President Bill Clinton and his wife, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as well as Hollywood celebrity and Avon Global Ambassador Reese Witherspoon, attended the conference. Witherspoon is also the honorary chairman of the Avon Foundation for Women.
Breakout sessions
Aimed at encouraging individuals to be activists and advocates in the global fight against injustice, slavery, and violence against women, the gathering featured breakout sessions that discussed specific and relevant topics.
One of the sessions that was of special interest to Sister Mary John centered on the topic of men being involved in the fight against violence towards women. During this session, she met Hollywood actor Victor Rivers, whose mother and siblings were physically abused by his father.
“Domestic violence is not just a problem for women, but a family issue,” Sister Mary John pointed out. “It is never enough for men to just understand what’s happening. they must be advocates, too, because the issue affects every member of the family.”
Overall, the Benedictine sister also realized one important, and troubling fact: While there are existing laws that talk about protection from domestic violence, these are not as well-defined, thus making implementation a challenging task.
In the Philippines, yet a bigger concern is the general lack of awareness of such a law, she said. “What we lack is consciousness, and more importantly, education. Here we have RA 9262, or the Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Act, but many do not know about it and what it means.”
Moreover, she said, many Filipino children are victims of gender archetypes and conditioning, leading them to believe that men are superior to women.
“Just look at the number of rape cases reported in the Philippines and analyze the symbolism of the girl who is raped, killed, and put away, ” Sister Mary John said. “What does it tell us? That men think of women as commodities, to be used at their discretion, and discarded just like that.”
Looking at current initiatives in the country, Sister Mary John said more can still be done. “Women’s shelters can only do so much. In fact, the most that they can really achieve is damage control. What society needs is an absolute change of consciousness, which, if possible, should begin early on.”
Empower youth
As president of St. Scholastica’s College, Sister Mary John included Women Studies as a course requirement for all students. With domestic violence having no regard for age, and claiming more young victims than what is perceived, it is never too early to empower the youth to become aware of the critical issue and encourage them to take action against it, she said.
Sister Mary John came back to the country armed with a fresh resolve to make a bigger difference where she is. Her role as co-founder of the WCC, for instance, allows her to be directly involved in domestic violence matters.
WCC is one of four partner NGOs for Avon’s Speak Out Against Domestic Violence initiative. The company raises funds to help sustain the partner NGOs’ hotline numbers from which the public can reach out about their domestic violence issues.
Taking off from what she learned from the Washington conference, the antidomestic violence advocate also has plans to set up an organization of men who will champion the cause, thus encouraging Filipino men to take a more proactive role in the war against this social “disease.”
“After the conference, my zeal to help fight domestic violence in the country has doubled, and I am all the more determined to proactively help raise awareness on the issue and mobilize different units of society—the family itself and the youth—into action,” she said.
Apart from empowering women with meaningful earning opportunities and quality beauty products, Avon, a leading global beauty company and the world’s largest direct seller, is also the largest corporate supporter of programs on breast cancer awareness.
Recently, Avon announced it reached the new milestone of more than $700 million raised and awarded worldwide for access to care and finding a cure for breast cancer, one of the leading causes of cancer death among women of all races.