Women ‘heroes’ in anti-violence campaign

STORIES of rape, discrimination, unpaid wages and the “Marites culture” were shared by female migrant workers during a forum that kicked off the campaign to end violence against women in Quezon City.

The “Babaeng BiyaHero Champions,” organized by the UN Women Safe and Fair Philippines (SAF), was held at the University of the Philippines in Diliman to coincide with the International Day to End Violence Against Women (Idevaw) that started on Friday, Nov. 2U, 2022.

SAF National Project Officer Charisse Jordan said that among the women survivors was an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who was forced by her husband to work abroad after being raped.

“It was her husband who forced her to work as an OFW as he could not accept that she was raped,” Jordan said.

According to Jordan, another woman survivor was an OFW who was raped by a minor son of her employer in Dubai.

“This woman survivor was raped by a minor whom she even raised for two years. When the child reached 15, he raped her. The family asked for forgiveness, but she was raped again for the second time,” Jordan said.

Jordan added that the OFW managed to escape and sought the assistance of the Philippine Embassy.

“The employer even filed counter charges against her for seduction since the perpetrator was a minor.

She won the case because luckily her employers were Nepalis and eventually they were deported,” Jordan said.

Jordan said that the women survivors receive psychosocial intervention from SAF.

“Just the other day, we were having [a] trauma session, and we were telling them, ‘it is okay to cry as you are brave enough to tell your stories,’” Jordan added.

Jordan said the group receives at least three cases daily of women migrant workers seeking assistance.

“Just last year, we provided services to more than 1,000 women who were victims of various forms of violence such as physical, harassment, and sexual violence like rape, as well as economic violence,” Jordan said.

Jordan added as part of the campaign of SAF, the Babaeng BiyaHero helpline was established.

“We already received over 300 cases or an average of three cases every day from Facebook, and Messenger,” Jordan added.

She said that the group was coordinating with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Overseas Welfare Workers Administration (OWWA) to help the distressed women migrant workers.

“We are working closely, especially with the DFA to help those who asked [for] assistance through our helpline and we repatriated many of them,” she noted.

According to Jordan, 80 percent of migrant workers who experienced violence were women and many of them were undocumented.

“Many of the survivors were victims of illegal recruitment. In fact, there were cases of contract substitution. These are those who have complete papers at the OWWA, but when they reached the country destination, their contracts were changed,” Jordan said.

Lack of opportunities

Jordan said that many Filipinos are still forced to leave despite the dangers because of the lack of opportunities in the country.

“Sadly, it’s because of [the] lack of opportunities in the country. While we have kasambahays (maids) here, even [if] you don’t have the professional experience, if you work abroad, you earn dollars compared to the salary of our kasambahays,” she said.

Jordan also criticized the “Marites culture” in the country where women migrant workers are still blamed despite being victims of their circumstances.

“The Marites culture is even stigmatizing our women migrant workers. They are still blamed for being victims of illegal recruitment, if something happens in their family, for [the] womanizing husband,” Jordan added.

Jordan said that many women who sought help from the Women Safe and Fair Philippines for unpaid wages were also victims of sexual violence.

“Many victims will not necessarily come forward for sexual violence even harassment. They will prioritize their unpaid wage as their families expect their remittances and they still need to pay for their debts,” she said.

During the forum, a woman survivor even narrated that victims of sexual violence experienced discrimination when seeking the assistance from government agencies.

For her part, UN Women Philippines Country Programme Coordinator Rosalyn Mesina said that the fight against discrimination should continue.

“The campaign against discrimination should be a joint effort. We need to expand the information not only at home, in the barangay, school, offices to put an end to discrimination,” Mesina said.

Mesina added that the campaign to assist women migrant workers who are victims of violence should include the local government units (LGUs).

“The program will not be there forever, so we need a coordinated effort. Aside from various agencies of government, the LGUs should pass an ordinance that will provide programs for the distressed OFWs so that they can directly ask for assistance,” Mesina said.

LGU assistance

Mesina said that OFWs who are victims of violence abroad should be able to seek assistance from the LGUs where they live.

“We see more and more people wanting to explore the option of migration to provide for their families. Our local agencies should be equipped to assist not only the OFWs but also their families here in the country,” she said.

The group also calls for the passage of Senate Bill 375 or the proposed Gender Responsive and Inclusive Pandemic Management Act to help the women migrant workers.