The City Government of Davao marked International Womenâs Day on Tuesday, recognizing not only the contributions of the women in society but also their continued struggle for gender equality and empowerment.
In an interview over Davao City Disaster Radio on Tuesday, Integrated Gender and Development Division head Lorna Mandin said that the city government has continued to address gender-related issues, especially domestic violence.
Ahead of International Women’s Day, the city government gathered women on March 4 for the 22nd City Wide Womenâs Summit where women shared their opinion on the current issues that they face. The Summit was the concluding event of the pre-summit discussions with several women groups.
âComprehensive ang gihisgutan – economic, political, health and education. Daghan kaayo og gipangsulti ang mga kababaihan (The topics discussed were comprehensive – economics, politics, health, and education. The women in that summit discussed a lot of things),” Mandin said.
Mandin said the Summit provided the venue for renewed women’s agenda which was crafted based on the consolidated inputs of the participants and pre-summit outputs. This agenda will be submitted to the City Mayor’s Office and the Office of the Vice Mayor for crafting of programs and policy direction.
She added that the summit was well represented by members of the LGU, barangay, and non-government organizations. There was also the participation of men per the Menâs Responsibility on Gender and Development (Mr. Gad) ordinance which requires them to attend the womenâs summit.
âIt was accomplished in the Womenâs Summit naay mga lalaki nga nagtambong para makasabot sila unsa diay ni ilang ginahigsutan and there was a message of support. Ang katuyuan man gud ana, sa pag organiza sa kalalakihan kay tan-awon pud no unsa ang ilahang concerns, unsa ang ilahang tan-aw og unsa ang ilahang mahimo toward gender equality and women empowerment ( It was accomplished during the Summit where men participated so they will understand what are the womenâs agenda. There was a message of support. The objective in organizing men is for us to know their concerns, their points of view and the things they can contribute to gender equality and women empowerment),â Mandin said.
She added that men can also speak (counseling sessions) to other men who are committing violence against women. They can also give out seminars at the community level to prevent cases of domestic violence.
Mandin also shared data on domestic violence cases in Davao City. She said that the latest data on violence against women is lower compared to the pre-pandemic years.
But this data, she said needs further checking because there could be underlying reasons for the low number of reported cases such as lack of access to helplines because of the Covid-19 restrictions.
Mandin said that the data of the city, police, and hospitals are conflicting, noting that the number of cases of violence against women is low in the city government and police records but high in the hospitals.
“Siguro nakita sa client na importante na magpa-medical kay padayon man nagataas ang ihap sa cases sa ospital pero sa amoa naga-ubos (Maybe the clients are seeing that it is more important to seek medical care first because the cases in the hospital are rising but our data reflect lower number),â Mandin said.
She clarified that the latest data was compared only from the pandemic time to the pre-pandemic period.
âNaa gihapon taây gina-accommodate, gina-tawagan, gina-file na cases sa court, family conferences.. naa gihapon na siya but if we compare it with the previous years it is lower (We still accommodate clients. We call people, file cases in court, and conduct family conferences. Cases still exist however it is just lower compared to the previous years), she said.
Given this, Mandin said that the celebration of International Womenâs Day and Womenâs Month is a time to renew each and everyoneâs commitment to recognizing the achievement and struggles of women that are always worthy of respect. CIO
