GENDER OMBUD REPORT 2016 • lack of or insufficient awareness of communities and State actors on laws protecting women9 • lack of training and insensitivity of duty bearers particularly toward marginalized women – women with disabilities, women with HIV/AIDS, Moro and indigenous women, and LGBTIs • absence of protocols in handling women and LBTs facing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, including the lack of sign language interpreters for deaf women. The same consultations highlighted increased vulnerability of women and LBTs during situations of armed conflict, development aggression and disaster. The Commission, in its independent report to the CEDAW Committee highlighted the multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination of women and LGBTIs, including issues concerning accessibility and barriers to remedies. In the case of LGBTIs, this is compounded by the stigma associated with their identity and the absence of protocols in handling their complaints. For hearing impaired women, lack of access also refer to the lack of interpreters despite the sign language trainings for service providers and the directive of the Supreme Court to provide interpreters in courts, police precincts, health centers, and hospitals, among others. The Commission’s report to the CEDAW also pointed to poverty and displacement due to natural disasters, development aggression, and armed conflict as factors increasing women and girl children’s vulnerability to sexual violence, trafficking, prostitution, and sexually transmitted diseases. Moreover, women and girl children are 6 disadvantaged not only by the inadequate services but also because services are not gender or culturallysensitive. People living in geographically isolated and inaccesible areas, such as the Moros and indigenous peoples, are particularly disadvantaged. In response, the CEDAW Committee emphasized the importance of accelerating substantive equality in the context of intersectonality of women’s identities. To quote: The Committee recommends that the State party further accelerate its achievement of substantive gender equality and the full realization of human rights for women, in particular by strengthening a gender-sensitive approach to development, peace and security, transitional justice, migration, disaster risk reduction, preparedness and response, and the mitigation of the negative impacts of climate change, with special attention paid to women facing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination. The Committee also recommends that the State party ensure the active and meaningful participation of women and women’s rights organizations in such processes.10 CONTINUING CHALLENGES IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF LAWS ON WOMEN There have been significant victories on the legal challenges to discrimination against women in the law. The rulings of the Supreme Court in the past decade consistently struck down stipulations against marriage11 and discrimination on the basis of pregnancy.12 It likewise upheld the constitutionality of Republic Act No. 9262 (Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children (VAWC) Act) in the case of Garcia vs. Hon. Ray Alan Drilon (5 June 2013). The Supreme Court (SC) explained that the law is based on substantial distinctions, specifically: (a) violence against women is an expression of the Regional Consultation (March 2016) result show that more than 50% of the FGDs conducted had participants who claim that they are not aware of the laws on women and children, and that those who were aware, still felt the need for more information on the laws and legal and gender sensitivity training for government service providers 10 CEDAW/C/PHL/CO/7-8 para. 10 11 Zialcita vs. PAL (20 Feb. 1977), PT and T vs. NLRC (GR 118978) 12 Lakpue vs. Drug, Inc. vs. Belga (20 October 2005); Del Monte Phils,Inc. vs. Velasco (6 March 2007) 9