Rainbow Rights 19, response to violence against LBTs are often lacking and their health
needs, often invisible in State programming. Specifically, Rainbow Rights reported the
different forms of violence experience by LBT in the family, community and from
institutions. The forms of violence included physical violence, verbal and emotional
violence, violence in the name of religion, violence in schools and sexual violence.
Rainbow Rights reported the absence of data on violence against LGBTs and the
‘significant invisibility and devaluation’ the community experience when reporting and
seeking remedies for violence.
For women in the context of development aggression, displacement due to armed
conflict and disasters, the National Inquiry reiterated their vulnerability to abuse and
exploitation, particularly to trafficking. It has been raised that the State is unaware of
specific needs of women, children, the elderly in displaced communities which result in
the failure to provide needed services. It has been raised as well that in cases of violence
in the context of displacement and development aggression, much remain
undocumented, unreported, and therefore unaddressed.
Invisibility of issues and specific vulnerabilities of women in the marginalized sector
As previously pointed out, adequate response to the intersecting vulnerabilities of
women, particularly Moro and Indigenous women, women in in geographically
inaccessible areas, women with disabilities, lesbian, bisexual and transwomen is lacking.
The issues of Indigenous women on the penalization and criminalization of
traditional and indigenous home births have been largely ignored – with more and more
LGUs enacting ordinances as their interpretation of the DOH’s encouragement of facility
based delivery, and without express prohibition/policy guideline from the DOH against
these issuances.
For Moro and IP women, mostly in GIDA, and women with disabilities access to
reproductive health services remain challenging. Geographic distance or in some cases
absence of health facilities, the lack or absence of health service providers, failure to
provide accommodation for needs of PWDs, and failure to take into account cultural
sensitivities have been complained of.
19 Rainbow Rights Project. Kwentong Bebot. Lived Experiences of Lesbians, Bisexual and Trangender
Women in the Philippines
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