So Near, Yet So Far: How Violence Against Women Blocks the Philippines from True Gender Equality by Justin Rainier Go

The situation of women in the Philippines is ironic. Look above, and you'll see that the  Philippines ranked 17th against 156 other countries in The World Economic Forum's Global  Gender Gap Report 2021. (Baron, 2021) In other words, we are one of the best nations in the world  when it comes to gender equality; in fact, we have been the best country in Asia in terms of closing  the gender gap multiple times. (Buenaobra, 2010; Okutsu, 2018) But look below, and you'll see  that — in the very same country — the end of National Women’s Month 2022 featured several  netizens justifying the beating of Filipino actress Ana Jalandoni as something that “can’t be  helped”. (Baclig, 2022) 

This incident is an example of violence against women. Violence against women includes  physical, sexual, psychological, or economic abuse, and it has been defined by the Philippines’  Republic Act 9262 or “The Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act of 2004” as: any act or a series of acts committed by any person against a woman who is his wife, former  wife, or against a woman with whom the person has or had a sexual or dating relationship,  or with whom he has a common child, or against her child whether legitimate or illegitimate,  with or without the family abode, which result in or is likely to result in physical, sexual,  psychological harm or suffering, or economic abuse including threats of such acts, battery,  assault, coercion, harassment or arbitrary deprivation of liberty. (Philippine Commission  on Women, n.d.) 

Societal norms and a culture of silence are the two main factors behind this problem. Undeniably, society sees men and women as having different roles based solely on their gender.  Men tend to be placed in leadership roles, while women are seen as nurturers; thus, there exists a  perception that men should have more power over women, and violence against women is one of the manifestations of this perception. Meanwhile, the culture of silence stems from a lack of  confidence in our judicial system: essentially, if justice will not be served even when we report  violence, then why bother doing so? 

These two main factors grew from roots in our nation’s past. Our nation once held babaylan in high regard, but history has not been kind to them. These Filipino shamans were mostly female, and they were the source of wisdom and knowledge among the other folk in the land during the  Philippines’ pre-colonial era. However, once the Spanish colonial period began in the 16th century,  the role of women in the Philippines worsened as the Spaniards forced their own ideas of a  woman’s role down our nation’s throat. Gone were the days of the babaylan, the image of the  Filipino woman reduced into nothing more than to be a mere Maria Clara, the Spanish ideal for  women at the time: religious and submissive. (Saldua, 2012) With stories of American soldiers  raping defenseless Filipino women and the infamous Japanese “comfort women” crimes following  suit, violence against women has certainly been a long-standing issue in our nation. (Margold,  2003; McCarthy, 2020) It is a shame that Filipino women — once powerful and integral members  of our society — have now become prone to various forms of abuse, especially violence. 

To this, I propose that we use the progress we have already made in the present to our  advantage against the problem of violence against women. Now, we lead Asia in terms of gender  equality, with our nation’s equal pay between male and females, female educational attainment,  and empowerment of women in politics. (Setianto, 2020) It is unfortunate that though progress has  been made in these areas, we have not yet eliminated violence against women. However, by  exerting the current empowerment of women in other areas, we should be able to remind the nation  that women are strong and powerful; through reminding our people of our achievements — both by women and for women — we may shatter the societal norms shackling women to their  aggressors and bring forth the voice shattering our culture of silence. 

Indeed, the Philippines may be one of the “good ones” when it comes to closing the gender  gap, but violence against women remains a pressing concern preventing our nation from achieving  true gender equality. If we can recognize women to be equally strong as men just like we did in  our far past, using what we have in the present, then surely, we can achieve true gender equality  that we have been hoping for in the near future