Press Release
March 11, 2009

Pia urges DOH: Eliminate sexual harassment and gender
discrimination in gov't hospitals

Senator Pia S. Cayetano has asked the Department of Health (DOH) to take concrete steps towards ensuring gender sensitivity and equality in all government hospitals, particularly to address reports of sexual harassment and gender discrimination committed against female doctors and nurses.

In a letter to Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, Cayetano urged the DOH to push for the establishment of Gender Sensitivity Boards in all medical facilities under the department, including public hospitals.

The senator's letter was dated March 1, which marked the start of the International Women's Month of March.

"In observance of this year's International Women's Month, the establishment of Gender Sensitivity Boards would be more meaningful for women professionals and hospital workers. It would provide a venue where problems involving gender issues in the workplace can be discussed and hopefully resolved," she said.

Cayetano's letter was prompted by reports reaching her office about sexual harassment and discrimination incidents where female government doctors, nurses and medical interns were violated.

"Sexual harassment and gender discrimination must be eliminated in the workplace. It certainly has no place in government hospitals where women comprise the majority of workers" added the senator, one of the principal authors of the Magna Carta of Women bill which seeks to institutionalize the basic rights of Filipino women.

"All matters relating to sexual harassment and discrimination can be elevated to the board, where these can be handled with confidentiality and dispatch. The DOH should set the guidelines and mechanics in constituting the board for enforcement in all government hospitals."

She cited the example set by the government's premier medical center, the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) in Manila, which has already established its own Gender Sensitivity Board to address said cases.

Cayetano noted that the DOH had earlier issued Administrative Order 1-B, series of 1997, directing the establishment of Women and Children Protection Units in DOH-controlled hospitals.

She acknowledged that the order has helped heighten awareness to prevent abuses committed against women and children, but she also stressed the urgency to address gender discrimination taking place in the workplace itself.

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