IBP reminds bets, supporters: Women's bodies, sexuality not for use as campaign gimmicks
MANILA, Philippines — Candidates and their supporters should not be using women as tools to court votes, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines said Thursday as the campaign seasons enters its last few weeks.
It said campaigns and the public should instead to uphold women's rights and protect them from gender-based violence.
In a statement, the national organization of lawyers said it "takes notice of the disturbing pattern of sexism, misogyny and violence in the conduct of the current elections campaign."
"Leaders and those who seek to become elected officials must be the first to ensure that laws protecting women from all forms of gender-based violence are upheld and that women are properly portrayed and represented in the electoral process," they said.
The IBP took note of "scantily clad women" hired to entertain in sorties and the spread of fake pornographic videos and social media posts about a presidential bet’s daughter and a revived scandal between a former president and an American actress.
"A woman’s body and sexuality must neither be used to earn more votes nor weaponized to smear a candidate," the IBP said.
Although they did not identify any incident, the statement was issued after rumors spread online linking Vice President Leni Robredo’s eldest daughter Aika to alleged sex videos. Robredo has vowed legal action on the issue.
The rumored affair between the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos and American actress Dovie Beams has also resurfaced.
The IBP condemned "the systematic and persistent practice of objectifying and degrading women and all other forms of gender based violence against women committed during this campaign period."
"These acts are insidious as they take advantage of pre-existing and structural gender biases against women and they erode the hard earned progress on women’s right to be free from discrimination and violence," they added.
The IBP stressed that the Philippines in 2009 enacted the Magna Carta of Women that protects women from violence in private and spaces. A decade later, the Safe Spaces Act was signed into law, which penalizes gender-based sexual harassment in online and public spaces.
The Safe Spaces Act also covers use information and communications technology in terrorizing and intimidating victims through “impersonating identities of victims online or posting lies about victims to harm their reputation,” the lawyers’ group reminded the public.
The IBP urged the candidates to adopt a gender-sensitive and non-discriminatory campaign and renewed its call to the Commission on Human Rights to craft a code of conduct to be followed during campaign.
"Lastly, we call on the public to adopt a policy of zero tolerance against all forms of gender-based sexual harassment, to not post and repost malicious and harassing posts and to call out candidates and leaders should be they be in violation of our current laws," it added.
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