Equality on Sexuality

Gender inequality remains a serious issue in today’s society. Members of the LGBTQIA+
community have been marginalized for a long time as men and women have been the only dominant
genders. With the prevalence of gender discrimination, and social norms and practices, these
marginalized members of the LGBTQIA+ community become exposed to the possibility of sexual
abuse, exploitation, and violence, especially the youth. Many of these manifestations will not change
unless all people are valued more, regardless of their gender identity.
According to University of California (2023), sexual assault is more likely to experience
among LGBTQIA+ persons as a group because they experience higher rates of poverty, stigma, and
marginalization. High rates of hate-related violence, which can take the form of sexual assault, are
also experienced by LGBTQIA+ people. Additionally, because LGBTQIA+ people are frequently
oversexualized, their relationships are stigmatized and they are more likely to engage in intimate
partner violence due to internalized homophobia and shame. Transgender, gay, and bisexual people
experience the highest incidence of sexual violence among the LGBTQIA+ community. Both of
these communities are prone to early sexual assault, mostly in childhood. In the Philippines,
lawmakers and school administrators have recognized that bullying among LGBTQIA+ youth is a
serious problem in recent years and have proposed interventions to address it. However, despite
looking promising on paper, these policies have not been well implemented. Many LGBTQIA+
youth still encounter bullying and harassment at school in the absence of proper implementation and
monitoring. The discrimination they face from their peers and teachers is exacerbated by
discriminatory policies that marginalize and disfavor LGBTQIA+ students, as well as a lack of
knowledge and resources about LGBTQIA+ issues in schools. Homophobia and gender-based
discrimination make them vulnerable to various forms of sexual assault, violence, and exploitation,
including human trafficking. In other words, the issue regarding the discrimination among
LGBTQIA+ community hasn't been fully addressed and most of them have been marginalized and
neglected.
LGBTQIA+ people nowadays still face stigma, prejudice, and discrimination in the
Philippine society. This stigma shows up in behaviors such as bullying, teasing, discrimination, and
harassment of LGBTQIA+ children and adolescents in families, schools, and communities; the
media's portrayal of LGBTQIA+ as foolish, unreliable, and even dangerous or predatory; the
exclusion of transgender Filipinos from public spaces; the labeling of LGBTQIA+ Filipinos into
roles and occupations that are mainly limited; or restrictions on their rights to participate in politics.
This situation only shows that the government should now work to finally pass the Sexual
Orientation and Gender Identity Expression (SOGIE) Equality Bill as this punishes discrimination on
the basis of sex, gender identity, or expression. Everyone has a sexual
orientation, gender identity, and a gender expression. It should be respected and valued. The
marginalized people of this community need our protection, and we should give it to them. At the
end of the day, it is all about ensuring that all people are protected from abuse, exploitation,
discrimination, and violence. Seeking an end to the issue that harms people means no special
treatment. It is all about the fact that these people need to be respected not because of their gender
identity or preference, but as human beings.