CHAPTER 2 AN OVERVIEW OF GENDER RIGHTS IN 2016 T he year 2016 was a busy year for human rights defenders in the country, particularly for women’s human rights and lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgenders and intersex (LGBTI) advocates as they engaged national, regional, and international bodies to push for gender equality. The year marked the Philippine treaty compliance review under CEDAW and ICESCR as well as the adoption of the Human Rights Council resolution creating the mandate on the protection against violence and discrimination based on SOGIE. The third cycle for the Universal Periodic Review for the Philippines were also in 2016. In terms of accomplishments, the efforts of the country to realize gender equality was recognized by the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Equality Index 2016, where the Philippines ranked 7th out of 144 countries. This was the highest ranking among countries in the Asia Pacific.7 A country’s ranking is assessed based on the gap between women and men in the areas of health, education, economic and political indicators.8 The year also marked a historic first in the country when a transgender, Geraldine Roman of Bataan, was elected to the House of Representatives. This breakthrough in the political arena brought hope to the LGBTI community that an Antidiscrimimation Bill would finally be enacted. The lobby for a specfic law that would ensure the protection and fulfillment of LGBTI rights against gender-based violence and discrimination has been on-going for more than a decade. SUBSTANTIVE EQUALITY AND INTERSECTIONALITY The Philippines enacted several laws to promote gender equality in the past three decades. These include laws against forms of gender-based violence (e.g. rape, sexual harassment, trafficking, abuse of women by their intimate partners), on gender mainstreaming, on equal protection and treatment under the law, and on gender quota systems, among others. However, as cases, research and anecdotal data show, there is a gap between the law and its implementation. In the workshops conducted by the Commission to assess the implementation of the CEDAW and the MCW, participants from its 15 regional offices reported the following issues: http://www.philstar.com/business/2015/11/19/1523353/highest-asia-pacific-philippines-climbs-7th-gender-equality-index Ibid. 6 7