Case Study 3: PARTICIPATORY GENDER AUDIT OF THE COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS OF THE PHILIPPINES36 Background In addition to being the country’s NHRI, the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines was designated by the country’s gender equality law (Magna Carta of Women) as the Gender and Development Ombud. As such it is tasked to investigate violations and non-compliance of the law and to promote and protect women’s human rights. Among the directives of the Magna Carta of Women is the adoption by all government agencies of institutional mechanisms for gender mainstreaming. This include the designation of gender focal point systems, the adoption of Gender and Development (GAD) planning and budgeting, the conduct of gender audit, the adoption of GAD codes, the maintenance of sex disaggregated data and the provision of not less than five percent budget. As Gender Ombud, the Commission is expected not only to be compliant with the mandates of the law but also to receive complaints in cases of violations. With this, the Commission finds the conduct of an institutional gender audit both strategic and urgent. In 2016, with funding support from GO Just Fortaleza Project, the Commission conducted a participatory gender audit led by the Gender Equality and Women’s Human Rights Center and in partnership with professors and independent consultants from the University of the Philippines College of Social Work and Development. The Commission engaged three consultants to conduct the audit. They worked for eight months at the Commission’s central office and four regional offices. The audit consisted of: • Desk review and interviews/workshops with various units of the Commission • Capacity building with the Commission’s staff on gender sensitivity and their role as Gender Ombud. The outputs of the project were the Final Report and the Gender Sensitivity and Gender Ombud Module for the Commission’s Staff. Aims of the gender audit The objectives of the participatory gender audit were to: 1. Assess the structure, mechanisms (i.e. policies, programs and services), processes and people of the Commission in terms of compliance to mainstreaming gender 2. Identify the gaps and necessary interventions given the results of the assessment 3. Conduct capacity building activities and relevant interventions. Methodology The audit was conducted in a span of eight months and involved interviews with the Commission’s leadership, officers of the central office and officers and staff of four regional offices. As the audit could not cover all of the Commission’s 16 regional offices, pilot areas were selected. In preparation for the audit, the experts met and planned with the Commission, identifying pilot areas, developing the tools and references to be used for the audit,37 and setting the timeline and resources. The team adopted the four entry points for gender mainstreaming, specifically assessing the current level of gender mainstreaming in the following areas: policy; people; programs, activities and projects; Section 4: Gender mainstreaming case studies | 55