Sen. Hontiveros pushes for SAFE SPACE in public places

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She wrote on her Facebook page, "Sa clubs, gigs, kalye at kung anumang lugar at oras, walang karapatan ang sinumang mambastos. This is why I filed the Safe Streets and Public Spaces Bill. We need to create more safe spaces for women, LGBT and yes, even men. #SafeSpaces Full text of Senate Bill No. 1326: http://senate.gov.ph/lisdata/2537321875!.pdf"

Her bill starts with the following introductory paragraph, "An overwhelming 88% of women aged 18 to 24 years old experienced sexual harassment in the streets (SWS, 2016). While wolf-whistling and catcalling are the more common cases, other forms of sexual harassment include lascivious language, stalking, rubbing or touching, indecent gestures, exhibitionism and public masturbation. 58% of these incidents take place on the streets and small alleys, they have also been reported to happen in public vehicles, public washrooms, schools, and workplaces."
The proposed law defines "Gender-based Street and Public Spaces Harassment." It provides, "Gender-based street and public spaces harassment is constitutive of unwanted comments, gestures, and actions forced on a person in a public space without their consent and is directed at them because of their actual or perceived sex, gender, gender expression, or sexual orientation and identity, including but not limited to unwanted cursing, wolf-whistling, cat-calling, leering, sexist, homophobic or transphobic slurs, persistent requests for someone’s name, number and destination after clear refusal, persistent telling of sexual jokes, use of sexual names, comments and demands, following, flashing, public masturbation, groping, stalking, and all analogous cases of sexual harassment and/or assault; provided that legitimate expressions of indigenous culture and tradition with no intent to harass shall not be penalized. Public spaces shall include but are not limited to, streets and alleys, public parks, schools, government buildings, malls, bars, restaurants, transportation terminals, public markets, and public utility vehicles."