Employees’ Compensation Commission’s (ECC) chairperson of the Committee on Decorum and Investigation (CODI) of Sexual Harassment Cases Atty. Patrice Jamain T. Barron conducted a one-day orientation on The Republic Act 11313, otherwise known as the “Safe Spaces Act (Bawal Bastos Law)” at the ECC Multipurpose Hall in Sen. Gil Puyat, Makati City on October 12, 2022.

The participants were the ECC employees including the Regional Extension Unit (REU) officers, on-the-job trainees, security guards, and janitorial staff. The orientation covers all forms of gender-based sexual harassment (GBSH) committed in public spaces, educational or training institutions, workplaces, and online space.

Topics discussed were: Definition of The Safe the Spaces Act; Its difference from the Anti-Sexual Harassment Law of 1995; Public, privately owned spaces and online sexual harassment; Visible warning signs of an act; Implementing bodies; and Offenses under the law regardless of motives, authority and moral ascendancy.

RA 11313 is a law that protects someone if harassed in public spaces. Even with a simple wolf-whistling to a person who walks by, you can be punished by this law with different levels of offenses.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for the private sector and the Civil Service Commission (CSC) for the public sector shall ensure compliance of the said law.

Everyone has human rights and wanted to be respected. The orientation ended with the end quote, “IF IT’S UNWANTED, IT’S HARASSMENT”.

 

R. Calina – REU4B