Women’s Rights under PH Laws Tackled in Chongqing Forum

CHONGQING 28 March 2022 – In observance of the Philippine Women’s Month, the Philippine Consulate General in Chongqing held an online forum entitled “#JuanaKnow: Women’s Rights in the Philippines, A Discussion of Philippine Laws Empowering Women”  with Atty. Joselle B. Amahit, a Chongqing-based Filipino lawyer, as resource person, on 27 March 2022.

Consul General Flerida Ann Camille P. Mayo cited the Philippines’ notable performance in closing gender gaps across key areas, as assessed in the World Economic Forum 2021 Global Gender Gap Report (17th out of 156 countries). She emphasized that a great deal more needs to be done to improve the situation of women and girls all over the world, including through “helping ourselves to a good dose of solid gender information, analysis, and audit.” She expressed the hope that the online forum would “shine a light on the Philippines’ gender gaps and break harmful biases.”

Atty. Amahit gave an overview of Filipino women’s rights situation in the context of the Philippine Constitution and existing laws, including the Labor, Family, and Revised Penal Codes, as well as the country’s international commitments under the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the Beijing Platform for Action, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. She briefly explained specific Philippine laws that promote and safeguard women’s rights (e.g., The Expanded Maternity Leave Law, Anti-Discrimination Law, Assistance for Small Scale Women Entrepreneurs Law, and Anti-Sexual Harassment Law, among others). She also cited legislation that address violence against women, such as the Anti-Rape Law, the Act Raising the Age of Sexual Consent, the Safe Spaces Act, and the Anti-Violence against Women and their Children Act.

Participants from Chongqing and Chengdu, including male attendees, raised relevant questions from a legal perspective and actively shared their views on human rights during the open forum. END

For more information, visit https://www.chongqingpcg.dfa.gov.ph.