OCD-ARMM addresses role of women in resilience building

COTABATO CITY --- The Office of Civil Defense in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (OCD-ARMM) is one with the national government on its 18-Day Campaign To End Violence Against Women, an annual observance in the country from November 25 to December 12 in support to the Philippine government’s goal to protect the rights of women and its commitment to address all forms of VAW.

Myrna J. Angot, officer-in-charge of OCD-ARMM, said the observance adopts the theme, “VAW – Free Community Starts with Me,” to raise awareness that violence against women is a public issue of national concern that needs a multi–sectoral approach to address the problem.

“We are appealing to the public, most especially to the women, to come out and report if in case they are victims of any kind of abuse,” Angot said.

There are two issuances that provide the national legal mandates for the annual VAW campaign: Proclamation 1172 s. 2006 – Declaring 25 November to 12 December as the 18-Day Campaign to End Violence Against Women (VAW) and Republic Act 10398 (2013) – Declaring November 25 of Every Year as National Consciousness Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Children.

Angot said that in support of the world-wide Campaign to End VAW, the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence begun in 1991, linking November 25 (International Day Against VAW) and December 10 (International Human Rights Day) to emphasize that VAW is a human rights violation.

“The Philippine government has participated in this world-wide campaign to eliminate VAW since 2002. Recognizing that human trafficking is a form of VAW, Presidential Proclamation 1172 s. 2006 extended the national campaign to 18 days, to include December 12, a historic date that marked the start of opening for signature in year 2000 of the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime,” said Angot.

Further, Angot cited the role of women in advocating for stronger engagement in the planning and implementation of disaster risk reduction program.

“Let us bear in mind the importance of having equal access to information and skills. Therefore, we should strengthen the individual capacities of our women and communities to combat challenges of any disaster,” she said.

Angot said women should be more resilient to face the recurring hazards and stressed they can be of help to make sure that hazards do not turn into disasters.

“Women could enhance disaster planning by focusing on community needs and vulnerable groups,” she added.

Angot added that women must somehow understand the consequences of disasters and its potential long term impacts.

“It is a must to ensure that women’s needs in disaster are represented. For one thing, promoting gender balance is crucial since women are certainly more affected by disasters than men. They need to take care of the children aside from other matters involving the family and their surrounding community” she said.

Angot also emphasized the importance of women in building the resilience of communities for sustainable development.

“In building a disaster resilient community, it is only important to have a gender sensitive DRR approach,” she said. (GILMHAR A. LAO / MINDANAO EXPOSE’)