Hontiveros wants to criminalize gender-based harassment

Senator Risa Hotiveros
INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / RICHARD A. REYES

Senator Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday vowed to push for a bill that would penalize gender-based harassment, such as cat-calling and homophobic slurs, as the Senate resumes its second regular session.

Hontiveros will propose the “Safe Streets and Public Spaces Act” penalizing gender-based harassment in public spaces, such as wolf-whistling, cat-calling, leering, homophobic and transphobic slurs, and persistent requests for a woman’s name and contact details.

In addition to this, the senator will also push for the passage of the Anti-Discrimination Bill (ADB), which will criminalize discrimination against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, specifically the restriction of access to public health services, employment and education, on the basis of one’s gender and sexual orientation.

“Despite the challenges presented by the political conjuncture, we will sustain the momentum of pursuing reforms in the health, women and gender struggles,” Hontiveros said in a statement on Wednesday.

The neophyte senator will also propose a bill that would prohibit health facilities from detaining fully- or partially-recovered patients due to non-payment in full or in part of hospital bills.

This will be called as the Anti-Hospital Detention Law.

“Ang hospital ay lugar ng gamutan, hindi kulungan (A hospital is a place of healing, not detention),” she said. JPV