#HarassMEANT

An Advocacy Requirement

In Purposive Communication

Prepared by:

Leader: Sanchez, Pamela Bianca

Secretary: Tuzon, Anne Krisha

Treasurer: Alasco, John Carlo

Creative Directors: Zabala, Raven Dorothy & Busacay, Jermane

Writer: Pesase, Yvonny

Researchers: Pengosro, Anjel Kim; Gambong, Mariejune; Abaya, John Bryan; Matias, Lailyn

Presenter: Pugong, John

April 12, 2019

 BACKGROUND OF THE ADVOCACY

HarassMEANT, this title of the advocacy came from the word harassment and “meant”

meaning, harassment is no accident, there is no excuse for it. It means that a person intended to

do it. With the help of many advocates, HarassMEANT started its advocacy in 2019 to make

people aware and stop the harassments done in the society. The HarassMEANT wanted to have a

voice. They knew they needed to make the organization known to have their voices be heard.

They started this advocacy because of their eagerness to end the harassment we are all

encountering. As founding members of the organization, they have experienced different kinds

of harassment, such as racial harassment, cyber-bullying, sexual harassment and the like.

So, what is harassment? Harassment as defined in the Equality Act of 2010 of UK is any

unwelcomed or uninvited action or behaviour that makes you offended or humiliated, distressed

or intimated which has the purpose or effect of violating your dignity which includes abusive

comments or jokes, graffiti, tampered picture or insulting gesture. Moreover, harassment is also

defined as a repeated or continuous unwanted action and annoying action of a person or a group

that affects the daily life of a person. In general, harassment means an action or speech that

prohibits, in which is served or pervasive enough to create a “hostile or abusive work

environment.” Citizen Advice Organization (2019)

There are different types of harassment. First- the harassment relating to protected

characteristics. If any of these protected characteristics have been used against you or to make

you humiliated, offend or intimated in any form, it is already considered as harassment. The

protected characteristics are your 1. Age; 2. Disability; 3. Gender reassignment; 4. Race; 5.

Religion/belief; 6. Sex and sexual orientation. Some protected characteristics are not directly
covered such as: marriage, civil partnership, pregnancy, or maternity but if any unwanted

behavior toward any of this will be considered as harassment. Second is the sexual harassment. It

is an unwanted or uninvited behaviour or action that is of sexual nature. Third is, treating

someone badly because they accept or reject sexual harassment. Fourth is bullying. It is the use

of force, threat, or aggressive action that makes you dominate the others. Bullying can be

physical, verbal or in written form. Fifth is racial harassment- a harassment that is intended for:

race, colour and nationality. Sixth, harassment on grounds of sexual orientation-harassment

deliberated to sexual orientation. It is like homophobia, a term for dislike, hatred, and rejection

of the third sex. It is violating the dignity of the third sex. Seventh is the harassment on grounds

of religion. It is the harassment that is intended for any religious beliefs or philosophical beliefs

of a person. Eighth is the harassment on grounds of disability. It is the harassment on the mental

capabilities and physical capabilities. Ninth is the political harassment, harassment on grounds of

trade union and membership. Tenth is the harassment on grounds of age wherein ageism can

affect anybody regardless of how of how old they are. Eleventh is the harassment on grounds of

gender re-assignment. This connects to sex discrimination. Lastly, is the harassment via medium

of media through the usage of media to violate or harass a person.

In terms of sexual harassment, most often, people interchange the word rape and

harassment. When in fact according to the United States Department of Justice, rape is defined as

a penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral

penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim is considered to

be a rape. While, harassment according to Hill, G. and Hill, K. (2005), is the act of systematic

and/or continued unwanted and annoying actions of one party or a group, including threats and

demands. The purposes may vary, including racial prejudice, personal malice, is the attempt to
force someone to quit a job or grant sexual favours, apply illegal pressure to collect a bill, or

merely gain sadistic pleasure from making someone fearful or anxious. In a shorter note, when

comparing sexual harassment and rape, rape is when another person forces you to have sex with

them when you don’t want to. While, sexual harassment can mean being touched when you do

not want to, hearing unwanted sexual talk or being called sexual names.

Harassment is punishable by the law, but the lack of people speaking up and voicing out

what had happened, will not stop the harassers from doing so. There are laws that protect the

people from being harassed and these are, "Anti-Bullying Act of 2013" also known as

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10627. The law stated that all elementary and secondary schools should

adopt policies that prevent and protect students from bullying; Republic act. No. 10175 or known

as "Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012; The VAWC or the Violence Against Women and

Children Act; Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995; RA 7610 or the Special Protection of

Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act and the like. (The LawPhil project

2013)

Some recent cases that struck the people most are: A 17-year old student from Saint

Louis University accused their athletics director of sexual harassment. According to the victim,

this happened on September 2014, they were working together inside an office when the director

shut the door and touched the student’s private parts. The school conducted their own

investigations, through this the school decided to remove the athletic director from his position-

report from Chuck Tinte, ABS-CBN News North Luzon (2015). Another case is the owner of the

Tiongsan accused one of their customers as a thief without any evidence. From the video, the

owner was standing beside the counter and was asking questions to the customer. The customer

tried to defend herself, but the owner kept on shouting and accusing the woman among a large
group of customers. Until the owner dragged the woman from the side and decided to go to the

police station and the video was cut. In this scenario the woman is being harassed because the

woman felt threatened and felt ashamed because of the way the owner handled her. The

indigenous people of Kibungan, Benguet faces harassment from the municipal councillor and

other barangay officials. It started from the project of the COHECO Badeo Corporation that they

will create a hydropower-plant -one of the places they chose is the barangay Badeo Kibungan

Benguet. But the indigenous people and land owners did not agree to the project. The people of

this land created a manifesto to stop this project and gave persona non grata to the people behind

these projects. As the fight continues, the municipal councillor and other barangay officials

threatened people to withdraw their signatures in the manifesto. Further, the said barangay

officials allegedly threatened a person who just passed a recent board examination that the

license will be cancelled if the said individual will not withdraw the signature from the petition,

from the blog Herland express, Hent (2017). Some of this cases became viral like the case of the

“bugbog or dignidad.” Where a student is bullying other students by way of physically hurting

them. The bully uses his knowledge of taekwondo for his own purposes like getting what he

wants and be dominating. Through this, the life of the students that were bullied are threatened,

Green (2018). Another case is the “bugbog ako berna” in which the safety of the child is being

threatened and being abused by the living partner of her father. These are just some of the cases

of harassments in the Philippines.

With the rising numbers of harassment happening in the country, HarassMEANT aims to

lessen if better, stop people from doing it through raising awareness that harassment is no joke

and should be taken seriously and through giving hope for those who had already given up

because of the traumatizing event that had happened to them, that they still can do something
about it and they could help others that had the same experience as them. Always remember that

no one is exempted, anyone can be a victim that is why this is the time to stand up, voice out, and

say no to harassment.

Vision, Mission, Objectives

We aspire to create and mold individuals who are motivated to empower and mobilized

to share the responsibility in creating a community free from any form of harassment. We also

advocate in raising awareness and to give justice to those who experienced harassment and hold

perpetrators accountable for their action.

We aim to raise awareness among society; to provide a wider and better understanding

regarding harassment, and to instill in the minds of the people the purpose of our advocacy.

Target Beneficiaries

Harassment is a serious problem for the student at all educational levels and institutions

as well as in the community. This advocacy will benefit students in elementary and secondary

schools, vocational schools, apprentice programs, colleges, universities, working professional,

skilled workers, and people of all ages regardless of sex, gender, ethnicity, and religious beliefs

as it aims to spread awareness and in still into their minds what harassment is and its types. This

advocacy does not only aim to make people aware of their own actions but to in still into their

minds that they should never ever let anyone harass them or vice versa.

Elementary Students- in an early age, if these students are taught of the impacts of the simple

acts they do to others, there would be less harassment in the future. If in an early age and these
kinds of issues are already instilled in their minds, they would be more careful with their actions

and learn the consequences of the things they do.

Secondary Students- in high school, cases of bullying are often complex, also sexual harassment

because students already hit their puberty and are more aware of the invisible standards they

have in their institution. Also, they are also aware what arouses them and not. Also, this is a

crucial stage for most teens, because they are transitioning from a child to a teenager.

College and University Students, Working Professionals, non-professional/skilled workers- these

students/workers would be able to speak up and voice out what had happened to them and if

worse comes to worst, the organization is willing to help the victim to which ever help they

need- financial aid to emotional aid.

Responses

Nowadays, informative ideas and concepts are easily spread with just a click of a button.

That is why the advocacy would be implemented through the advancement of technology by

using social media as our main platform. Through Facebook page, Twitter Account and a

website, publication materials will be posted such as videos, posters, info-graphics and the like to

get in touch with our audiences. Also, we will be having an interschool campaign, where in we

will go from school to school to give out flyers, brochures, or pamphlets and posters to spread

awareness that harassment is not a joke and should be stopped. Along with this, we will also be

having seminars, lectures, and symposiums that would help the victims and those who have the

same advocacy as us to know more about what they can do, and how will they be able to help.

For the Facebook page and Twitter account, awareness posters will be posted also some

teasers and videos that would spread awareness about harassment. It is to gain audiences so we
could have a louder voice. Announcements and events will also be posted in the page. In short,

this is to keep in touch with the advocates, members and those who want to be a member.

The website is for the contact information, history, VMOs, gallery and for other inquiries.

It will also be for the merchandises that we will be selling. Such as t-shirts, jackets, hoodies,

pens, keychain and the like for those who want to support our advocacy. The designs of these

would be minimalistic but will surely have an impact and a message for everyone to think about.

The video that we will be making will be about our own experiences. It is in our daily

lives, how we have been harassed by someone. We chose to make the video with our own

experiences so we could attract the audience and for them to know how much this advocacy

means to us.

General questions:

Mc/Host: Have you ever been harassed?

Mc/Host: What did you feel afterwards?

• John:

Hi, I’m … from Ifugao and this is my story.

Mc/Host: Have you ever been harassed?

Yes, I’ve been verbally harassed by a male teacher back in high school, in front of the crowd that

I was hosting when I tried to put the program into order and he said some insulting words. He
was corrected by the faculty but instead of apologizing, his hatred towards me grew on as he

went on humiliating me in our class subject with every single mistake.

Mc/Host: What did you feel afterwards?

I felt dishonored, shamed and belittled... I never dared again to be a moderator in programs until

I graduated in senior high school, no matter how much they urged me.

• Pogi:

Hi, I’m … from Mt. Province and this is my story

Mc/Host: Have you ever been harassed?

Yes, when i was in my 9th grade, there was this 4th year student who sexually harassed me.

I was just standing at the corridor when this guy walked in front of me and touched my upper

private part.

I told this to our teacher and they said that he was in the influence of drugs, as he was well

known for using it. So we went to the principal's office to report it but to the following days

nothing happened and the guy still managed to graduate in high school.

Mc/Host: How did you feel after that?

It was traumatizing, seeing that guy in school every day was hard for me and I was angry,

knowing the school didn’t do anything to discipline him.

I also reached that point where I view all men to be like that but as years pass by I tried to change

that perception because I have male friends now.

• YanYan:

Hi, …. I’m yanyan from nueva viscaya and this is my story

Mc/Host: Have you ever been harassed?

Of course, when I just got out from a computer shop when a car stopped right in front of me then

the guy told me that "miss, miss dito ka na lang? " you can consider it cat calling

Mc/Host: How did you feel after that?

It’s frustrating, how could they do such acts and what benefit could they get from it anyways.

And even though I was really frustrated, I didn’t let my emotions get through me so I didn't

bother to answer them back and just walked away.

• Boiboi

Hi, I’m … from pangasinan and this is my story

Mc/Host: Have you ever been harassed?

Yes, I’ve been humiliated before, way back when I was in Grade 9, there was this guy who

always opposes the thoughts and ideas I gave in class. Every time he contradicts me, I feel sad

because why does he keep opposing my ideas when he can't even give proper ideas to the class.

Mc/Host: How did you feel after that?

Because of that experience I'm already scared to share my ideas to the class, not just in the class

but also in group meetings and other types of sharing because I'm scared that my ideas might be

wrong.

• Napaay

Hi, I am ... from Benguet and this is my story

Mc/Host: Have you ever been harassed?

Yes, when I’m walking along the street, there’s this drunk guy asking for my name and where I

am going, it’s really scary for me so whenever I’m on my way home and see some drunk guy

around, I speed up my pace to avoid them.

• Anda

Hi, I’m … from Benguet and this is my story

Mc/Host: Have you ever been harassed?

Yes, I’ve been cat called and physically harassed by an older male relative and it’s traumatizing

even though it was just some small touches, after those incident I’ve never seen them the way I

did before, I avoided them and rarely talk to them so that it never happens again, and I kept my

mouth shut because I don’t want to ruin our family and I don’t want to see my Dad go to jail

because he will surely go mad.

• Dora

Hi, Im … from Caloocan and this is my story

Mc/Host: Have you ever been harassed?

Yes, my first experience was being touched behind by a stranger (a man) outside the church, and

knowing it's just near the church there were many people and I could not voice out what was

happening, but then I immediately saw my mom so I went scurrying near her and ignored what

happened. My second experience was with my Filipino teacher (I was 9 years old or 10) where

she humiliated me in front of my classmates, I was about to ask something but her anger clouded

her judgment. These are just few of my experiences being harassed, but these experiences taught

me how to overcome such challenges it brought me. I saw them as opportunities where I'd be

stronger and build myself even more, for in the end it is only ourselves who will be there when

such unfortunate circumstances may arise.

• Bia

Hi, I’m ... from manila and this is my story

Mc/Host: Have you ever been harassed?

Yes, racial harassment ever since I was kid, I've been teased by everyone regarding my color and

built. I still remember people calling me names such as "panget", "negra" "baluga" etc. I grew up

being so conscious about my color and body built. I wanted to live to other people's standards

and God knows, how many times I cried just because I felt really ashamed of myself. People

don't know how much it hurts when they shame others about the way they look. But what hurts

most is that they shame you for your race. They shame you for having a flat nose, a big forehead,

big legs and hips and dark color. I just wish people would tend to accept other races and not just

the standards that the white people are setting for us.

• MJ

Hi, I’m… from Benguet and this is my story

Mc/Host: Have you ever been harassed?

Yes, I’ve been harassed on ground of my sexual orientation, others won’t accept my gender

preference and shame me on it. And although I’m on the 3rd sex, I have also been sexually

harassed, back on junior high a person tried to touch my chest to see if I’m a female in sex and

they keep asking me sensitive questions like do I have a female organ and such.
 The posters’ content would be different every week. The first will be about the

awareness, on how everyone is not yet aware of the harassment happening around us. That some

still think that harassment is a joke. The second poster will be about how they can make

donations for the victims of harassment. Third, would be about the promotion of the merchandise

that will be used as a fund-raising for the victims. And the other posters will be about the

upcoming events that will be hosted by the organization.

The info-graphics is for the statistics of how many children, adults may it be a man or a

woman who experiences harassment in the Philippines. There will also be info-graphics

regarding the average victims who speak up about how they were harassed and those who chose

to keep quiet. Info-graphics about how aware the people are in terms of harassment, also

bullying statistics and cybercrimes such as identity theft and scam.

The aim for our interschool campaign is to have a wider audience. We will be also be

conducting school to school speeches about why they should join us, the details of our

organization and how can we help them. For the brochures, we will also put the information we

used in the info-graphics just lesser. For the flyers, we will be giving out our contact numbers,

pages and basic information about the organization so if ever they would want to join, they could

easily find us. For the posters, we will be giving out in each school regarding the events that the

organization will be conducting.

For the symposium, we will be inviting professional speakers such as lawyers, doctors

and the like to speak about the effects of this in a person’s mental health, the laws that protects

human rights etc.

 For the seminars, we will be inviting speakers, who experienced harassment and did

something about it to inspire those who are afraid to speak up. Also, speakers who chose to stay

quiet and do nothing who regrets not saying anything, to let them know that this issue should not

be kept a secret.

For the lectures, we will be conducting lectures about how we can stop it. On how we can

stand together, we will lecture about hope and the like.

Campaign Supporters

Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP)

-Is a national human rights organization concerned with documenting human rights violations,

assisting the victims and their families in their material and legal needs, and conducting human

rights education work.

Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA) is a non-stock, non-profit alliance

duly registered under the laws of the Philippines, with SEC No. ANO92-03505. It was

established on 1986 in a Congress that was participated in by more than a hundred organizations

from all over the Philippines. It was formed as an alliance of individuals, institutions and

organizations committed to the promotion, protection and realization of human rights in the

Philippines
GALANG Philippines- was established by a group of lesbian friends who were either keenly

observing or actively engaged in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) activist

communities in the Philippines.

Amnesty International Philippines (AIPh) is a human rights organization in the Philippines,

Manila. It's an independent organization with the famous parent organization Amnesty

International.It works for the passage of anti-torture legislation, ratification of the Optional

Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT), enactment of a domestic International

Humanitarian Law (IHL), work on juvenile justice, repeal of the death penalty law, and passage

of the Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act (Anti-VAWC).

OutRight Action International (OutRight) is a LGBTIQ human rights non-governmental

organization that addresses human rights violations and abuse. OutRight Action International

documents human rights discrimination and abuses based on their sexual orientation and gender

identity or expression in partnership with activists, advocates, media, NGOs and allies on a local,

regional, national and international level.

GABRIELA National Alliance of Women is a grassroots-based alliance of more than 200

organizations, institutions, desks and programs of women all over the Philippines seeking to

wage a struggle for the liberation of all oppressed Filipino women and the rest of our people.

The Philippines' Department of Social Welfare and Development is the executive department

of the Philippine Government responsible for the protection of the social welfare of rights of

Filipinos and to promote social development

PACERS- Founded in 2006, PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center- actively leads

social change to prevent childhood bullying, so that all youth are safe and supported in their

schools, communities, and online.

UNICEF Philippines - One of the first UNICEF offices established in Asia, it works to uphold

the rights of children in the Philippines, including their right to education, healthcare and

protection from abuse and exploitation.

Stop Street Harassment (SSH) -Is a non-profit organization dedicated to documenting and

ending gender-based street harassment worldwide. We conduct research, fund a national hotline,

work on local, national and international campaigns and run an informational website.
Project Expenses Report

A. Materials
Particulars Quantity Unit Cost Amount

Printing 30 ₱ 2.00 ₱ 60.00

Bond papers 20 ₱ 1.00 ₱ 20.00
Brochure 1 ₱ 48.00 ₱ 48.00
Poster 1 ₱ 70.00 ₱ 70.00
Shirts 5 ₱ 100.00 ₱ 500.00
______________________________________________________________
TOTAL ₱ 698.00

Printing
Bond papers
Brochure

Poster

Shirts

B. OTHERS

Particulars Quantity Unit Cost Amount

Food
Snacks 12 ₱ 20.00 ₱ 240.00
Lunch 12 ₱ 55.00 ₱ 660.00
Transportation
Jeep 12 ₱ 8.00 ₱ 96.00
Tricycle 12 ₱ 10.00 ₱ 120.00
_______________________________________________________________
TOTAL ₱ 1,116.00
 Tricycle
Snacks
Jeep

Lunch

C. TOTAL EXPENDITURES

Materials ₱ 698.00
Others ₱ 1,116.00
_______________________________________________________________
TOTAL ₱ 1,814.00
REFERENCES:

ABS-CBN News (2015): SLU fires athletics director accused of sexual harassment retrieved on

April 14, 2019 available at https://news.abs-cbn.com/nation/regions/06/17/15/slu-fires-athletics-

director-accused-sexual-harrasment

Citizens Advice (2019): Equality Act 2010 - discrimination and your rights retrieved on April 9,

2019 available at https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/law-and-courts/discrimination/about-

discrimination/equality-act-2010-discrimination-and-your-rights/

CNN Philippines Staff (2017): Filipinos join #MeToo anti-sexual harassment campaign retrieved

on April 9, 2019 available at http://nine.cnnphilippines.com/news/2017/10/17/Filipinos-MeToo-

anti-sexual-harassment-campaign.html

Del Rio, B. (2018): The alarming state of the Philippines’ sexual harassment and child

exploitation cases retrieved on April 9, 2019 available at

https://preen.inquirer.net/81711/alarming-state-philippines-sexual-harassment-child-exploitation-

cases

Green (2018): Ateneo Bullying Incident Victim’s Parents Finally Break Silence On Issue

retrieved on April 14, 2019 available at https://philnews.ph/2018/12/26/ateneo-bullying-incident-

victim-parents-break-silence/

Equality and Human Rights Commission (2018): What is direct and indirect discrimination? |

Equality law: discrimination explained available at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdFw_i03V0A
Hent (2017):Kibungan IP leaders slam harassment retrieved on April 14, 2019 available at

https://www.baguioheraldexpressonline.com/kibungan-ip-leaders-slam-harassment2/

Modesto, C. (2019). Manila Times: Negros Occidental priest sacked for allegedly molesting 4-

yr-old girl. Retrieved on April 8, 2019.available at https://www.manilatimes.net

Philippine Commission on Women (2009): Strengthening Law Enforcement and Protection

Against Sexual Offenses: Expanding the Anti-Sexual Harassment Law retrieved from April 11,

2019 available at https://pcw.gov.ph/wpla/strengthening-law-enforcement-and-protection-

against-sexual-offenses-expanding-anti-sexual-harassment-law

Presse, A (2019): FACT CHECK: No, this man is not the suspect in the Cebu rape-slay case

retrieved on April 9, 2019 available at https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/03/21/19/fact-check-

no-this-man-is-not-the-suspect-in-the-cebu-rape-slay-case

Reuters, T (2019): Understanding Different Types of Harassment retrieved on April 9, 2019

available at https://employment.findlaw.com/employment-discrimination/understanding-

different-types-of-harassment.html

Swansea University (2011): 2. Definition and Examples of Harassment retrieved on April 9,

2019 available at https://www.swansea.ac.uk/academic-services/academic-guide/conduct-and-

complaints/dignity-at-work-and-study-combating-harassment/2-definition-and-examples-of-

harassment/

The LawPhil project (2013): REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10627 retrieved on April 11, 2019 available

at https://www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2013/ra_10627_2013.html
UN Women (2016): Global Database on Violence against Women retrieved on April 9, 2019

available at http://evaw-global-database.unwomen.org/fr/countries/asia/philippines

Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (2019): Sexual harassment in the

workplace retrieved on April 8, 2019 available at

https://www.humanrightscommission.vic.gov.au/the-workplace/sexual-harassment-at-work

WHEN IN MANILA CONTRIBUTOR (2014): Philippines Named as One of the Most Racist

Countries in the World retrieved on April 9, 2019 available at

https://www.wheninmanila.com/philippines-named-as-one-of-the-most-racist-countries-in-the-

world/