IKAW, ANONG KWENTO MO?
-- A DELIBERATE CALL FOR RECOGNITION, AWARENESS, AND ACTION --
According to Flores (2020), LGBT people are at greater risk of violent victimization due to several reasons. It may root from anti-LGBT prejudice at home, work, school, or in any setting that makes the LGBT people vulnerable to serious victimization situations that affect numerous areas of their everyday life. Furthermore, a study by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law shows that members of the LGBTQIA+ community are nearly four times more likely to experience serious violent victimization, which includes rape, sexual assault, and aggravated or simple assault, than those who do not belong to the community.
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But despite the steps taken and efforts done to normalize being a part of the LGBTQ+ community, the homophobia, abuse, and violence directed to LGBTQ+ individuals is still prevalent in today’s society that directs to any person based on their sex, gender identities, stereotypes, gender inequality, or perceived gender roles in the society.
Hate crimes, bullying, physical and sexual assault, and the like - These are only some of the various forms of violence that LGBTQ+ individuals are being risked at. GBV is a global pandemic and can affect anybody at any time and setting. It is one of the most prevalent human rights violations in the world that the directed to the women, men, children, elderly, and especially the LGBTQ+ community, and it happens in both heterosexual and homosexual relationships.
Gender-Based Violence is broad, it does not only occur today but, it has a massive impact on future generations, on children who would experience growing up in houses of the victims who are facing abuse and violence. Thus, the call for the promotion of human rights, equality, and protection of those who are being subject to or victims of Gender-based abuse and violence is needed.
GENDER-BASED ABUSE AND VIOLENCE TOWARDS THE LGBTQIA+ COMMUNITY IN THE PHILIPPINES
In the Philippines, the prevalence of gender-based abuse and discrimination is rampant, as it is often tolerated, ignored, or considered something that is to be taken with humor and insensitivity even if it is already offensive to the person receiving it at the other end. These forms of gender-based abuse and discrimination may take the form of benign jokes, which are taken lightly by others, and may even extend to physical abuse that already violates the rights of the person.
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Many LGBTQIA+ youth in the country continue to experience bullying and harassment in school, which greatly affects their schooling experience considering that schools should be one of the safest places for the youth. The Department of Education (DepEd) enacted a Child Protection Policy, and an Anti-Bullying Law was passed by Congress back in 2013 as a way to emphasize that sexual orientation and gender identity are prohibited grounds for bullying and harassment. However, despite the efforts made by lawmakers and school administrators in the country, bullying, harassment, and discrimination directed towards LGBT+ youth remain serious problems.
But such actions do not only occur to the LGBT+ youth, many LGBTQIA+ individuals of all ages fear for their safety, which roots from the reported gender-based violence that prevails in the Philippines. Reports of incidents of murder involving members of the LGBTQ+ community in the Philippines stemming from gender-based abuse and violence were happening every few months in the country (https://fullerproject.org/story/im-scared-every-damn-day-in-the-philippines-violence-shadows-trans-lives/). This makes the members of the LGBT+ community vulnerable to abuse and violence, which becomes a constant shadow of worry and fear for them, instead of creating an environment where they feel safe and comfortable being themselves.
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