PHILIPPINE NATIONAL POLICE

Women and Children Protection Center

The Safe Spaces Act

(RA 11313)

Presenter:
SLO, WCPC
 Law’s Purpose

Ensure an individual’s sense of personal space

and public safety, online and in public areas.
men and women’s equality, security and
safety on the streets, public spaces, online,
workplaces and educational and training
institutions
 Republic Act 11313
✔ Gender-based street and public spaces sexual
harassment
✔ Gender-based online sexual harassment
✔Qualified Gender-based streets, public spaces
and online sexual harassment
✔ Gender-based sexual harassment in the
workplace
✔ Gender-based sexual harassment in
educational and training institutions.
 Did the Safe Spaces Act
repeal the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act?
 Features of the SSA
• In addition to penalizing acts of gender-based sexual
harassment in public places, the Safe Spaces Act also
expands the 1995 Anti-Sexual Harassment Act
• Formerly, sexual harassment was only punished
when committed by someone who has authority,
influence, or moral ascendancy over the victim.
• Under the Safe Spaces Act, acts committed between
peers, by a subordinate to a superior officer, by a
student to a teacher, or by a trainee to a trainer are
now covered as punishable sexual harassment.
 Anti-Sexual
Harassment Act
• By persons of authority,
influence, or moral
ascendancy
• In work, education, or
training environments
• Demands, requests, or
otherwise requires any
sexual favor
• Lack of consent is not an
element
• Work, education, or training-
related sexual harassment
Safe Spaces Act
• By anyone against anyone
• In any public space or
online
• Unwanted and uninvited
sexual actions or remarks
• Lack of consent is
essential
• Gender-based sexual
harassment (GSH) in
streets and public spaces
or gender-based online
sexual harassment
(GOSH)
 Definition:
Gender identity and/or expression – the
personal sense of identity as characterized,
among others, by manner of clothing,
inclinations, and behavior in relation to
masculine or feminine conventions. A person
may have a male or female identity with
physiological characteristics of the opposite
sex, in which case this person is considered
transgender.
 Definition:

Homophobic remarks or slurs - any statements

which are indicative of irrational fear, hatred
or aversion towards people of differing sexual
orientation and/or gender identity.
 Definition:

Sexist remarks or slurs - statements that are

indicative of prejudice, stereotyping, or
discrimination on the basis of sex, typically
against women.
 Definition:

Misogynistic remarks or slurs - any statements

that are indicative of the feeling of hating
women or the belief that men are much better
than women.
Gender-Based Streets and Public Spaces Sexual
Harassment
PUBLIC SPACES:
- Streets, alleys, sidewalks
- public parks,
- schools, buildings,
churches
- malls, bars, restaurants,
- transportation
terminals, internet shops
- public markets,
- spaces used as
evacuation centers
PUBLIC SPACES:
- government offices,
public utility vehicles
- private vehicles covered
by app-based transport
network services
- other recreational spaces
such as, but not limited
to, cinema halls, theaters
and spas
- Other areas openly
accessible to the public
 Non-Verbal GBSH

 Making offensive • exposing private parts for the

body gestures at sexual gratification of the
someone perpetrator with the effect of
demeaning, harassing,
threatening or intimidating the
offended party (flashing of private
parts, public masturbation,
groping, and similar lewd sexual
actions)
 GBSH in Streets and Public Spaces
 Cursing • use of words, gestures or actions
 wolf-whistling that ridicule on the basis of sex,
 Catcalling gender or sexual orientation,
 identity and/or expression
leering and intrusive gazing
• includes sexist, homophobic, and
 Taunting
transphobic statements and slurs
 Unwanted sexual actions
• persistent telling of sexual jokes
 misogynistic, transphobic,
• use of sexual names, comments
homophobic, and sexist slurs
and demands
 persistent unwanted comments
on appearance • any statement that has made an
invasion on a person’s personal
 relentless requests for personal
space or threatens the person’s
details such as name, contact
sense of personal safety
and social media details or
destination
Gender-Based Online Sexual Harassment
Gender-Based Online Sexual Harassment
 Prohibited Acts:
cursing, wolf-whistling, catcalling, leering and
intrusive gazing, taunting, cursing, unwanted
invitations, misogynistic, transphobic,
homophobic, and sexist slurs, persistent
unwanted comments on one’s appearance,
relentless requests for one’s personal details,
ridicule on the basis of sex, gender, or sexual
orientation, etc
(Sec 12 (a) IRR, SSA)
 Penalty
First Offense Fine of one thousand pesos
(P1,000.00) and community
service of twelve (12) hours
inclusive of attendance to a
Gender Sensitivity Seminar

Second Offense arresto menor (6 to 10 days

imprisonment) or a fine of
three thousand pesos
(P3,000.00)
Third Offense arresto menor (11 to 30 days
imprisonment) or a fine of
ten thousand pesos
(P10,000.00)
 GBSH in PUVs
- LTO may cancel license of perpetrator
- LTFRB may suspend or revoke franchise
For acts of operators who commit GBSH
constituting
GBSH in - if driver is the perpetrator, shall
PUVs constitute breach of contract of carriage,
for the purpose of constituting
presumption of negligence on the owner
in the selection of employee, hence, may
be solidarily liable
 Prohibited Acts:
 Making offensive body • flashing of private parts,
gestures at someone public masturbation,
 exposing private parts groping, and similar
for the sexual lewd sexual actions
gratification of the
perpetrator with the
effect of demeaning,
harassing, threatening
or intimidating the
offended party
 Penalty
First Offense Fine of ten thousand pesos
(P10,000.00) and community
service of twelve (12) hours
inclusive of attendance to a
Gender Sensitivity Seminar
Second Offense arresto menor (11 to 30 days) or a
fine of fifteen thousand pesos
(P15,000.00)
Third Offense arresto mayor (1 month and 1 day
to 6 months) and a fine of twenty
thousand pesos (P20,000.00)
 Prohibited Acts:
 Stalking, any of the acts  any touching, pinching,
mentioned in 11(a)
(cursing, wolf-whistling,
etc.) or 11(b) (offensive
body gestures, etc)
when accompanied by
touching, pinching or
brushing against the
body of the offended
person;
or brushing against the
genitalia, face, arms,
anus, groin, breasts,
inner thighs, buttocks or
any part of the victim’s
body even when not
accompanied by acts
mentioned in 11(a) and
11(b)
 Penalty
First Offense arresto menor (11 to 30 days) or a
fine of fifteen thousand pesos
(P30,000.00)

Second Offense arresto mayor (1 month and 1 day

to 6 months) or a fine of twenty
thousand pesos (P50,000.00)

Third Offense Arresto mayor maximum or a fine

of (100,000.00)
 Prohibited Acts:
 Gender-based online  Penalty:
sexual harassment Prision correccional in its
medium period or a fine
of not less than one
hundred thousand pesos
(P100,000.00) but not
more than five hundred
thousand pesos
(P500,000.00), or both at
the discretion of the court
 Prohibited Acts:
 Gender-based sexual  Penalty:
harassment in the Administrative penalties
workplace and as provided for by the
educational or training employer’s Committee on
institutions (peer to Decorum and
peer, subordinate to a Investigation, and without
superior and vice versa) prejudice to other
applicable criminal
violations and penalties
 Duties of Employers:
 Disseminate or post in  Create an independent
conspicuous places CODI
copy of the law in the  Develop and
workplace disseminate a code of
 Provide measures to conduct or workplace
prevent GBSH in the policy
workplace
 Liability of Employers:
 Non-implementation of  5,000 to 10,000 pesos
their duties
 Not taking action on
reported GBSH in  10,000 to 15,000 pesos
workplace
 GBSH in Education and Training
Institutions:
 Failure of school/training  Penalty:
institution heads to Fine of not less than
implement their duties five thousand pesos
under the Safe Spaces Act (P5,000.00) nor more
(i.e. create CODI, provide than ten thousand
measures to prevent pesos (P10,000.00)
GBSH)
• Local government units are mandated to
pass ordinances localizing the
applicability of the Safe Spaces Act.
• Implentation:
– Metro Manila Development Authority
(MMDA),
– Philippine National Police (PNP), Women and
Children’s Protection Desk (WCPD) of the
PNP
– Anti-Cybercrime Group of the PNP
(PNPACG) – online cases
 Role of PNP:
• Concerning the authority granted to security
guards to conduct citizen’s arrest, to issue
guidelines on their deputation
• Ensure that awareness of the SSA forms part
of the training of security guards
• Together with the MMDA, local PNP units
and WCPDs shall apprehend perpetrators of
GBSH in streets and public spaces
• To ensure that ASHE undergo GST
• To deputize its enforcers to be ASHE
 Role of PNP:
• In coordination with LGUs and PCW, to conduct
GST seminar to offenders of GBSH and to issue
certificate of completion of community service
imposed
• For the ACG, to receive complaints of gender-based
online sexual harassment
• Together with the DOJ and NBI, to develop
procedures and protocols for receiving complaints
and addressing gender-based online sexual
harassment.
 The MMDA as Anti-Sexual Harassment
Enforcers (ASHE)  
• Receive complaints on the street
• Make in flagrante delicto arrests
• Bring the perpetrator to the nearest PNP
station
• Together with the Women's and Children's
Desk of PNP stations, keep a ledger of
offenders
 GSH in Streets and Public Spaces
Committed by Minors

The DSWD shall make necessary

disciplinary measures and diversion
program under RA 9344
 Implementing Bodies:
For gender-based online sexual
harassment, the PNP-ACG shall be
primary responsible in receiving
complaints and shall develop mechanisms
for reporting real-time gender-based
online sexual harassment
 Implementing Bodies:
The Department of Justice shall lead in the
development of protocols and standards
of gathering evidence and case build-up
The Case
 The offense

In 2019, a complaint was filed against a Manila MTC

judge for showing bias and partiality against litigants’
sexual orientation.

“Being a homosexual, tomboy, lesbian, God doesn’t

like that. If you have a lesbian relationship, your child
will be punished,” the judge was quoted saying.
 The offense
These remarks, constituted homophobic slurs which
have no place in our courts of law.

For issuing the inappropriate statements, respondent

judge violated the New Code of Judicial Conduct,
which imposes on judges the duty to ensure equal
treatment of all before the courts and to understand
diversity arising from race, sex, religion, age, sexual
orientation, and social and economic status, among
others.
 The Decision

• Manila Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 26

Presiding is guilty of sexual harassment (CSC
Resolution No. 01-940)
• 30 days without pay
• fine of P40,000 for simple misconduct
• another P10,000 for conduct unbecoming of a
judge
End of Presentation