‘Philippines still has a long way to go to closing gender gap’

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines still has a long way to go to close the gender gap in the country due to cases of unreported domestic abuse against women and child marriages, according to the United Nations Population Fund country representative Leila Joudane.

“We see many Filipinas in top positions not just in government but also in the private sector and most especially in civil society,” Joudane said in a statement on Friday when the country commemorated International Women’s Day.

“Women in the Philippines experience many freedoms, at least when compared to their peers in other countries… But while we enjoy such successes, the Philippines, alongside other countries, still has a long way to go towards achieving the… goal for gender equality,” she added.

She lauded the Philippines for ranking 16th among 146 countries in the 2023 World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index report.

But there remain cases of gender-based violence in the country, Joudane said, citing the 2022 Philippine National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) which showed that 18 percent of Filipino women suffered physical, sexual or emotional abuse from their partners.

Two of five victims of gender-based violence in the Philippines did not seek help, she added.

The NDHS report also showed that 286,000 or 5.6 percent of girls aged 15 to 19 were married or in union, worsening the problem of child marriage in the Philippines that impede the youth from finishing their education.

While the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) lauded the Philippines for passing the Anti-Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children law, the UN panel said there remain “high levels of violence and insecurity” and “intersecting forms of discrimination” against women, which are worsened by natural disasters and the pandemic.

The country representative reiterated the call for more pro-women pieces of legislation following the passage of the law that punishes child marriages in the country.

She cited the proposed “Adolescent Pregnancy” law – approved in the House of Representatives and pending in the Senate – which seeks to address adolescent pregnancies by allowing