The World March of Women-Pilipinas for Leni, through its national coordinator, Jean Enriquez, condemns in the strongest manner possible the lewd and pornographic sites set up by unscrupulous groups who consider the Leni-Kiko campaigners as enemies.
“This is the legacy of sexism, machismo, and misogyny of the current administration that might continue if we do not stop it,” Enriquez of WMW-Pilipinas stressed.
“We deplore the ongoing black operations of groups threatened by the Leni-Kiko campaign which involves profiting over online sexual exploitation of women candidates, their families and supporters, and through the use of deep-fake photographs and videos. The unholy alliance of anti-women and anti-people candidates demonstrate what we will be seeing under their regime. As we hope for the elimination of all forms of sexual violence, it was clear to us that it was only VP Leni’s camp that listened to us on this issue and we vow to make them win,” said the Coalition Against Trafficking of Women-Asia Pacific (CATW-AP) in a statement with youth groups.
Meanwhile the Women’s Legal and Human Rights Bureau (WLB) also “denounces the continued shrinking spaces for women in politics as clearly shown by the malevolent attacks made against women politicians and their families.” “These forms of violence against women in politics are done to intimidate and eventually silence women to deter them from entering politics altogether, especially those who have been opposed to the current government. We do not tolerate this twisted playbook in politics as this will also embolden perpetrators to commit violence against ordinary women and girls whether via online or not,” said Jelen Paclarin, executive director of WLB, a member organization of WMW-Pilipinas.
“Kahit saan o anong sitwasyon, elekyson man o hindi, walang espasyo ang karahasan sa kababaihan. Pinapakita ng kabastusang ito ang realidad na hinaharap ng mga kababaihan sa araw-araw — binibiktima ng karahasan sa iba’t-ibang aspeto ng buhay, sa politika, at ekonomiya.. Naaalala natin kung papaano inatake ang matatapang na babae dahil sa kanilang kasarian — si Sen. Leila at ang napakaraming mga progresibo at ordinaryong kababaihan. Walang hindi sisirain ang mga taong uhaw na uhaw sa kapangyarihan. Nakikiisa ang WMW at SENTRO sa lahat ng mga kababaihang biktima ng karahasan, lalo na ngayong eleksyon. Patuloy tayong lalaban para sa isang lipunan na walang lugar para sa mga nakakapanlumong gawain tulad nito,” said Joanna Bernice Coronacion, Deputy Secretary General of Sentro ng Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (SENTRO). (Whether it is during elections or at any other time, there must be no space for all forms of violence against women in the realm of politics and economics. We must not forget how Senator Leila de Lima, progressive, activist, as well as ordinary women, had been sexually harassed. We in WMW and SENTRO will continue to resist violence against women).
Judy Pasimio of LILAK (Purple Action for Indigenous Women’s Rights) stated, “Since his candidacy, online gendered attacks against women during elections have been in the Duterte playbook. Now it is being passed on to Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte. These methods are aimed to humiliate, demoralize, and weaken the opposition. It is misogynistic, immoral, cruel, and truly spineless of the Marcos-Duterte team and their supporters to resort to such methods. We strongly denounce such actions, and we exhort the COMELEC to immediately investigate these attacks. Further, COMELEC should be strong in its position against misogynist campaign methods and actions of candidates and their supporters. We urge the public to choose leaders who do not resort to vicious ad hominem attacks, manipulation of facts, and denigration of women. No to Marcos! No to Duterte!”
Amparo Miciano, Secretary General of Pambansang Koalisyon ng Kababaihan sa Kanayunan (PKKK), added to the condemnation, “We are saddened and deeply disturbed to see women cruelly diminished to sexual objects and subjected to scrutiny are also the misogynists’ way to sow fear and hate so they can silence women who pursue leadership positions. Those who promote and support these acts speaks well of how they will govern our country if ever they win. They resort to desperate moves at the expense of women candidates and their families. PKKK condemns this act of violence against women and wish to call upon the proper authorites to act swiftly to punish misogynistic acts by some candidates and their supporters. We also call on the public to report online content which degrades women not only during election campaign but as well as in everyday setting.
”Lisa Garcia of Foundation for Media Alternatives added, “FMA condemns the fabrication and circulation of sexual narratives against candidates and their families. This is not the first time that disinformation was weaponized against the women. The use of deepfake technology shows that such disinformation is made to be sexual in nature in attempts to anchor women to their sexuality and attack them for it. Advancements in technology are also being used to cripple women’s participatory power, especially in civil and political spaces. The online dimension is not any less important in fighting gender-based violence. We urge everyone to report any cases of online GBV. Let us be critical of the narratives being spread online and fight back against gender-based attacks that continue to hamper the meaningful exercise of women’s rights. This election, let us vote for honest candidates who will fight for women’s rights, and not those who will stoop down to the level of harming others for political gain.”#
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