“Let’s put a stop to the evil of silence. We must speak, not just as human beings, but specifically as women,” said Senator Leila De Lima at a forum held at Miriam College last October 14. De Lima, who is facing accusations of involvement with the Bilibid drug trade, has been subject to sexist and misogynistic attacks that go beyond the drug allegations.

The height of these attacks was when House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez suggested that he saw nothing wrong if De Lima’s alleged sex video were to be shown during the congressional probe on Bilibid.

Alvarez then earned rebuke from many legislators. “I don’t see how the showing of fake sex videos will promote the interest of truth and justice,” Sen. Risa Hontiveros said.

That was not the only instance of misogyny that De Lima has had to face. Months back, different women’s organizations have expressed their support for the senator after President Rodrigo Duterte’s personal attacks against her. He called her an “immoral woman” at a speech last August 17 for her alleged affair with driver-bodyguard Ronnie Dayan, who is a suspected as a drug dealer.

Under the Duterte administration

Jean Enriquez, executive director of the Coalition Against Trafficking of Women-Asia Pacific (CATW-AP), laments how the Duterte administration has encouraged the objectification of women.

Different groups led by Enriquez recently filed a complaint to the Commission of Human Rights (CHR) against Duterte for language he used during the election campaign. They said that he “made debasing remarks on rape and abuse of a domestic worker, kissed female supporters and held them on his lap in public, to the womens’ surprise and without their consent.”

Some instances include Duterte’s catcalling of broadcast journalist Mariz Umali during a press conference in May, as well as his comment that he “should have been first,” pertaining to the gang rape and murder of an Australian in 1989. Duterte refused to apologize for the comment, saying “this is how men talk.”

Even Vice President Leni Robredo herself became a subject of such remarks. At a speech during a commemoration of Typhoon Yolanda in Tacloban last November 8, Duterte admitted to staring at Robredo’s legs at a cabinet meeting and even teasing her with a rumor of a new boyfriend, much to her discomfort.

Expectedly, the president claimed it was merely an “icebreaker” to lighten up the crowd. While at first Robredo said that she was already used to the president’s jokes, she later issued a statement calling his words “inappropriate.”

“Tasteless remarks and inappropriate advances against women should have no place in our society. We should expect that most of all from our leaders,” she said.

Enriquez says that this type of language condones and promotes sexual violence, as well as the notion that men are privileged, entitled to women’s bodies, and are naturally womanizers. She believes that this type of language from someone who was a popular candidate and now the current president emboldens and influences others to think and act the same way.

Women as disadvantaged

It is important to note that these things are happening in a country named by the World Economic Forum as Asia’s most gender-equal nation, ranking 7th out of 145 countries. Although the Philippines ranks high in gender equality, there are still areas where women are at a disadvantage.

Women, who comprise half of the population, are not well represented in Congress. Women make up a fourth of senators and only three out of 10 representatives in the Lower House.

In the workplace, men earn roughly 15% more than women, and although Filipinas in management positions earn wages closer to that of the wages of men compared to women from other Asian countries, the gap still stands at 10%.

In terms of health and safety, 1 in 5 Filipinas have experienced physical violence. Since the age of 15, 6% of these women experienced sexual abuse, and one-fourth of women who have been married have experienced emotional, physical, or sexual abuse from their husbands, according to the 2013 National Demographic and Health Survey.

There is also widespread victim blaming of women who experience sexual violence on social media, according to the CHR. “Victim-blaming not only trivializes and normalizes violence against women, it encourages rape culture and adversely affects women’s access to justice,” the CHR said.

Last May, the Philippine Commission on Women criticized senator Tito Sotto for victim-shaming Katrina Conde, a contestant in a segment of noontime show Eat Bulaga. Sotto and the other hosts berated and accused Conde of causing the separation from her husband by drinking, going out with friends, and wearing suggestive clothing.

Sexual trafficking of women

The problem of misogyny is concretely manifested in the sexual trafficking of women in prostitution. As outlined in the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children, the United Nations defines sex trafficking as the “exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation” through force or other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud, and other means.

Enriquez says that women in prostitution can become victims of trafficking, because they can be bought, sold, and exploited by others. She adds that in the Philippines, it is the women who engage in prostitution who are criminalized under Republic Act 10158 or the Act Decriminalizing Vagrancy under the Revised Penal Code.

“The people who are bought and sold in prostitution should not be the ones considered criminal; instead the ones who are exploiting their prostitution, the buyers and the pimps who are profiting from the prostitution, should be the ones criminalized,” says Enriquez.

According to her, this law makes it easy for women to be taken advantage of by the police for being prostitutes. When women are brought to detention, policemen offer these women their freedom in exchange for sex. Some women, if they are not bailed out of jail right away, oblige because they fear for their children who have been left on the streets.

Enriquez explains that there is less sympathy for women in prostitution primarily because of the issue’s multi-faceted nature. Often, women who become prostitutes come from rural areas or an impoverished background and have had a history of being abused. For Enriquez, this profile shows that if these women had other options, and if they were paid better, they would not work as prostitutes.

A new life

When resources are available, CATW-AP aims to provide shelter for women in prostitution and those who have been abused. This gives the women a place to rest without them feeling like they are being imprisoned, as they can go in and out at any time they please. They also provide legal assistance to file cases against their traffickers and abusers.

If possible, the organization also supports the women’s formal education. Enriquez shares that through talks, they help them reconnect to their dreams as young girls. These conversations also help them realize that there are possibilities for them beyond prostitution.

Some women who have come to realize this eventually go into social work or law enforcement because they want to change and improve the system. They want to protect women and children, the most vulnerable in society.

“Nakikita nila na pwede silang gumawa ng paraan para maka-alis doon (they see that they can find ways to move on from that),” explained Enriquez. “It’s all about changing the individual lives in order to change the whole society.”