UN Women and UNAIDS empower HIV-positive women leaders to claim their rights in the Philippines
Date:
MANILA, June 2012 – UN Women and UNAIDS in partnership with women’s rights organizations and HIV/AIDS groups is empowering HIV-positive women leaders across the Philippines to claim their rights using national and international human rights instruments.
In partnership with the Pinoy Plus Association and the Asia Pacific Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (APN+), UN Women and UNAIDS supported a three-day “Know Your Rights” training for HIV-positive women leaders in Manila, the Philippines. The workshop came days after the official joining of UN Women as a UNAIDS Cosponsor. “We believe that the single most important strategy in dealing with HIV is empowering women and guaranteeing their rights so that they can protect themselves from infection, overcome stigma, and gain greater access to treatment and care,” said Michelle Bachelet, Executive Director of UN Women upon becoming a UNAIDS cosponsor.
The workshop provided the opportunity for HIV positive women leaders from different parts of the country to learn about women’s human rights, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). In doing so, the women were equipped and empowered to advocate for their specific needs and rights in the decision-making processes that affect their lives, receiving practical training on policy advocacy at local and national levels. Coming to the workshop, “I did not know how to defend the rights of women living with HIV. I did not even know about our specific rights and I had never done any advocacy before,” said one woman from Cebu. “We see [rights] violations in women’s reproductive health, this is particularly so for positive women,” said another from Manila. Being part of the workshop “made me realize that we can work together as positive women,” she added.
“In terms of their rights, the women raised a lot of gender issues related to HIV, reproductive health and marriage, and their rights under Philippine laws,” said Attorney Clara Rita A. Padilla, Executive Director of Engender Rights Inc., and expert on CEDAW at the meeting. “There is a need to address a lack of information related to these issues. CEDAW and the Magna Carta for Women are conventions that every Filipino woman should know. In the case of the Philippine Magna Carta of Women, it incorporates CEDAW principles and identifies resource mechanisms available to HIV-positive women when they find themselves discriminated against because of their HIV status.” Attorney Padilla hoped that more HIV-positive women would be able to use CEDAW to safeguard their rights and that positive women’s groups could directly engage with the CEDAW reporting and monitoring process in the Philippines.
“UN Women is committed to promoting the leadership and participation of women living with HIV in decision-making and we continue to facilitate their engagement in a range of policymaking processes, including the preparation of the alternative (‘Shadow’) CEDAW Report now underway,” said Lucia Cynita C. Rago of UN Women Philippines. “Gender equality and respect for women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights, especially for women living with HIV, are essential for an effective response to HIV in the Philippines,” she added.
There are an estimated 1.7 million women living with HIV in the Asia Pacific region and the number of young Filipino women aged 15-24 infected with HIV more than doubled between 2008 and 2009. The Philippines has the lowest reported condom use rate in Asia and is one of the few countries worldwide that has reported an increase of 25% or more in new cases during the period 2001-2009, in stark contrast to the general global trend that indicates stabilizing or decreasing numbers of new infections.
The workshop marked the final in a series of six national trainings across the ASEAN region under a regional HIV project funded by UN Women, UNAIDS and the ASEAN Foundation. The previous five workshops were held in Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar between late 2011 and mid-2012.
In partnership with the Pinoy Plus Association and the Asia Pacific Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (APN+), UN Women and UNAIDS supported a three-day “Know Your Rights” training for HIV-positive women leaders in Manila, the Philippines. The workshop came days after the official joining of UN Women as a UNAIDS Cosponsor. “We believe that the single most important strategy in dealing with HIV is empowering women and guaranteeing their rights so that they can protect themselves from infection, overcome stigma, and gain greater access to treatment and care,” said Michelle Bachelet, Executive Director of UN Women upon becoming a UNAIDS cosponsor.
The workshop provided the opportunity for HIV positive women leaders from different parts of the country to learn about women’s human rights, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). In doing so, the women were equipped and empowered to advocate for their specific needs and rights in the decision-making processes that affect their lives, receiving practical training on policy advocacy at local and national levels. Coming to the workshop, “I did not know how to defend the rights of women living with HIV. I did not even know about our specific rights and I had never done any advocacy before,” said one woman from Cebu. “We see [rights] violations in women’s reproductive health, this is particularly so for positive women,” said another from Manila. Being part of the workshop “made me realize that we can work together as positive women,” she added.
“In terms of their rights, the women raised a lot of gender issues related to HIV, reproductive health and marriage, and their rights under Philippine laws,” said Attorney Clara Rita A. Padilla, Executive Director of Engender Rights Inc., and expert on CEDAW at the meeting. “There is a need to address a lack of information related to these issues. CEDAW and the Magna Carta for Women are conventions that every Filipino woman should know. In the case of the Philippine Magna Carta of Women, it incorporates CEDAW principles and identifies resource mechanisms available to HIV-positive women when they find themselves discriminated against because of their HIV status.” Attorney Padilla hoped that more HIV-positive women would be able to use CEDAW to safeguard their rights and that positive women’s groups could directly engage with the CEDAW reporting and monitoring process in the Philippines.
“UN Women is committed to promoting the leadership and participation of women living with HIV in decision-making and we continue to facilitate their engagement in a range of policymaking processes, including the preparation of the alternative (‘Shadow’) CEDAW Report now underway,” said Lucia Cynita C. Rago of UN Women Philippines. “Gender equality and respect for women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights, especially for women living with HIV, are essential for an effective response to HIV in the Philippines,” she added.
There are an estimated 1.7 million women living with HIV in the Asia Pacific region and the number of young Filipino women aged 15-24 infected with HIV more than doubled between 2008 and 2009. The Philippines has the lowest reported condom use rate in Asia and is one of the few countries worldwide that has reported an increase of 25% or more in new cases during the period 2001-2009, in stark contrast to the general global trend that indicates stabilizing or decreasing numbers of new infections.
The workshop marked the final in a series of six national trainings across the ASEAN region under a regional HIV project funded by UN Women, UNAIDS and the ASEAN Foundation. The previous five workshops were held in Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar between late 2011 and mid-2012.