the lack of access to remedies for VAW inside the family but also the difficulty of
accessing remedies in cases where the perpetrators are State actors – those who
demolish their shanties and leave trails of abuses.
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 from the DOH against the
enactment of these ordinances.
For Moro and IP women, mostly in GIDA, and women with disabilities access to
reproductive health services remain challenging. Distance or in some case absence of
health facilities, the lack or absence of health service providers, the failure to provide
accommodation for needs of PWDs, and failure to take into account cultural
sensitivities have been complained of.
For LBTs, the stigma borne by their sexual orientation and gender identity continue
to hinder sensitive delivery of reproductive health services and information. In the
same vein, access to reproductive health services and general health services of
persons with HIV are affected by the stigma attached to HIV and the lack of awareness
and training of health workers on HIV.
In areas where displacement is prevalent, the constant complaint has been the failure
to take into consideration and prioritize the reproductive health needs of women,
their protection from violence and trafficking. For the IDPs in Zamboanga and in
Tacloban, despite having been resettled either in transitory or in permanent shelters,
access to reproductive health services and information, to health facilities, and to
transportation to health facilities have been consistently complained of. Complaints
have been documented that the needs of women during displacement have not been
adequately met.
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