GENDER OMBUD REPORT 2016 DISCRIMINATION IN EDUCATION (SEC. 13) Issues investigated by the Commission in relation to the MCW provisions on education are the following: student and teacher dismissals due to out-of-wedlock pregnancies; estalishment and functionality of Committees on Decorum and Investigation (CODI); complaints of gender-based discrimination in schools, and scholarships accorded to women from marginalized sector. The results of the CHR monitoring showed general compliance of public schools and State Universities and Colleges to the MCW. Many of them have GAD plans and related policies. Specific to actions against VAW, the CHR Regional Office X reported that four State Universities, four public high schools and two school divisions have specific programs and policies to prevent VAW. The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) in Region X also monitors VAW-related cases in colleges and universities. They plan to conduct a curriculum review to address gender stereotypes in teaching materials. Schools also reported that they do not dismiss students and teachers when they became pregnant out of wedlock. Some educational institutions have specified this in their policies. However, from Region III, the CHR Regional Office received two cases of female students who were not allowed to graduate by the school for reasons of pregnancy and having sexual relations with a fellow student. The anti-sexual harassment policies and Committee on Decorum and Investigation (CODIs) are already in place in several of the schools monitored. These CODIs are functional as evidenced by the reports on cases it handled, which were also submitted to the CHR’s Regional Offices. In Region IX, sexual harassment cases in public elementary and secondary schools are being documented by 26 the Department of Education (DepEd) regional office. In 2016, DeEd received reports of six cases of sexual harassment from the Divisions of Dipolog and Dapitan, including a case involving an LGBTI student and a rape case. Gender-based violence against LGBTIs in the educational setting was also recorded in Cebu. One university reported handling four cases involving SOGIE issues in SY 2015-2016, and another one in SY 2016-2017. At the basic education level, DepEd Region VII documented 14 cases of gender-based violence in schools, one of which involved a member of the LGBT community. On the provision of scholarships to students belonging to margainlized sectors, most educational institutions cited existing government scholarships for this purpose. One school in Region VII has a specific scholarship program for female students belonging to marginalized groups. WOMEN IN MILITARY AND POLICE SERVICES (SEC. 15) On women in the military and police service, the CHR’s inquiry covered the adoption of policies eliminating all forms of discrimination and the establishment of CODI. Some of the results of the CHR’s inquiry in this regard are the following: • The AFP 79th Infantry Batallion (IB) in Camp Leon Kilat based in Region V shared that it has not formed a CODI; none of its personnel were reported committing sexual harassment or any other forms of GBV and discrimination. It added that the IB observes GAD policies, adopts policies governing marriage, pregnancy, and maternity leave of female members in the active force. • The Office of Civil Defense in Region