Gender Sensitivity and the Laws on Women and Children’s

Rights
Atty. Angelisa l. razo, reb llm

Aims of the course

 This course will provide an introduction to the concrete legal contexts in which
issues of gender and justice have been articulated, disputed and hesitatingly, if not
provisionally, resolved in the Philippines.
 Through the laws - domestic and international treaties and conventions to which
the Philippines is a signatory, and the jurisprudence, we will explore the multiple
ways in which the law has contended with sexual difference, gender-based
stereotypes, and the meaning of gender equality. So too, we will discuss laws on
women and children's rights.
GRADING SYSTEM
 MIDTERM EXAM – 30%
 FINAL EXAM – 30%
 RECITATION, QUIZZES, GROUP ACTIVITIES, CLASS PARTICIPATION,
ATTENDANCE – 40%

DEFINITION OF TERMS

GENDER vs. SEX

Gender refers to the characteristics of women, men, girls and boys that are socially
constructed.

This includes norms, behaviors and roles associated with being a woman, man, girl
or boy, as well as relationships with each other. As a social construct, gender
varies from society to society and can change over time.
Gender is hierarchical and produces inequalities that intersect with other social
and economic inequalities. Gender-based discrimination intersects with other
factors of discrimination, such as ethnicity, socioeconomic status, disability, age,
geographic location, gender identity and sexual orientation, among others. This is
referred to as intersectionality.
Gender interacts with but is different from SEX, which refers to the different
biological and physiological characteristics of females, males and intersex persons,
such as chromosomes, hormones and reproductive organs. Gender and sex are
related to but different from gender identity. Gender identity refers to a person’s
deeply felt, internal and individual experience of gender, which may or may not
correspond to the person’s physiology or designated sex at birth.
SOURCE: https://www.who.int/health-topics/gender#tab=tab_1
 GENDER IDENTITY v. GENDER EXPRESSION

Gender identity is different from gender expression.

For example, in much of the U.S., wearing a dress is considered a “feminine”
gender expression, and wearing a tuxedo is considered a “masculine” gender
expression. Such expectations are culturally defined and vary across time and
culture. One’s gender expression does not necessarily align with their gender
identity. Diverse gender expressions, much like diverse gender identities, are not
indications of a mental disorder.

GENDER IDENTITY v. GENDER EXPRESSION

 Gender identity

refers to one’s psychological sense of their gender.

 Gender expression
Refers to the way in which one presents to the world in a gendered way.

SEXUAL ORIENTATION and GENDER IDENTITY DEFINITIONS

Sexual orientation
 An inherent or immutable enduring emotional, romantic or sexual attraction to
other people.
Gender identity
 One's innermost concept of self as male, female, a blend of both or neither – how
individuals perceive themselves and what they call themselves. One's gender
identity can be the same or different from their sex assigned at birth.

SEXUAL ORIENTATION and GENDER IDENTITY DEFINITIONS

 Gender expression
External appearance of one's gender identity, usually expressed through behavior,
clothing, haircut or voice, and which may or may not conform to socially defined
behaviors and characteristics typically associated with being either masculine or
feminine.
 Transgender
An umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or expression is different from
cultural expectations based on the sex they were assigned at birth. Being transgender does
not imply any specific sexual orientation. Therefore, transgender people may identify as
straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, etc.

SEXUAL ORIENTATION and GENDER IDENTITY DEFINITIONS

 Gender transition
 The process by which some people strive to more closely align their internal
knowledge of gender with its outward appearance. Some people socially transition,
whereby they might begin dressing, using names and pronouns and/or be socially
recognized as another gender. Others undergo physical transitions in which they modify
their bodies through medical interventions.
SEXUAL ORIENTATION and GENDER IDENTITY DEFINITIONS
 Gender dysphoria
Clinically significant distress caused when a person's assigned birth gender is not the
same as the one with which they identify. According to the American Psychiatric
Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), the term –
which replaces Gender Identity Disorder – "is intended to better characterize the
experiences of affected children, adolescents, and adults."

SEXUAL ORIENTATION and GENDER IDENTITY DEFINITIONS

 Cisgender
Describes a person whose gender identity aligns in a traditional sense with the sex
assigned to them at birth.
 Gender diverse
An umbrella term describing individuals with gender identities and/or expressions that
vary from expected developmental norms. This includes people who identify as multiple
genders or with no gender at all.

SEXUAL ORIENTATION and GENDER IDENTITY DEFINITIONS

 Nonbinary
A term used by some individuals whose gender identity is neither girl/woman nor
boy/man.

EVOLUTION ON THE ISSUE OF GENDER

The issues related to GENDER in the broader sense, including sexuality and
LGTBQ rights originated in the FEMINIST JURISPRUDENCE.
FEMINIST JURISPRUDENCE
- A branch of jurisprudence that examines the relationship between women and law,
including the history of legal and social biases against women, the elimination of
those biases in modern law, and the enhancement of women's legal rights and
recognition in society. (Black Law’s Dictionary)
The first published use of the phrase "feminist jurisprudence" occurred in Ann
Scales's article "Toward a Feminist Jurisprudence" in 1978.
Source: Georgetown Law Library
https://guides.ll.georgetown.edu/c.php?g=363438&p=2455483