SU joins National Women’s Month celeb
Ceremonial ribbon-cutting of the Safe Space Desk in SU, located at the SU Student Government office, first floor of Oriental Hall. (Photo from the Safe Campuses Project Facebook page)
Silliman University (SU) joins the National Women’s Month celebration this March, as part of the worldwide observance of International Women’s Day (March 8) which galvanizes support for gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls everywhere.
In line with this annual celebration, SU reiterates its continuing commitment to advancing women’s rights. As part of this advocacy, units and departments will be holding activities in support of this celebration, including gender sensitivity and diversity training to be conducted by volunteer resource persons.
The university, to prompt awareness, also publishes infographics particularly about Republic Act 11313 or the Safe Spaces Act which was signed into only last April 2019 which defines and penalizes gender-based sexual harassment in streets, public spaces, online, workplaces, and educational or training institutions.
(Photo from the Safe Campuses Project Facebook page)
To recall, SU has been at the forefront in the promotion of women’s rights, especially gender-fair and gender-responsive education, through the Center for Gender and Development Studies, the first academe-based women’s studies center in the Philippines established in 1981.
In January this year, SU together with the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) and Active Citizenship Foundation (ACF) launched the Safe Campuses Project to fight off harassment and discrimination on campus.
SU is one of only five (5) academic institutions in the country to implement this project. Students may securely disclose gender concerns and experiences at the Safe Spaces Desk located at the SU Student Government (SUSG) Office on the first floor of Oriental Hall.
Silliman also partnered with the US Embassy to create a leadership and mentoring initiative for the next generation of female leaders called Girls Congress. Under this program, selected young women build critical skills such as public speaking, parliamentary procedure, lobbying, design-thinking, dream-boarding while also learning about current issues such as climate change, mental health, and gender equality.
The theme for this year’s celebration is “I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights” which marks the 25th anniversary of Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the result of the Fourth World Conference on Women, wherein world leaders and activists gathered to enshrine women’s rights as fundamental to the overall success of society.
