Wicked Problem

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Welcome to part 6 of our series wherein we provide our own insights about the given issue.

Welcome to part 5 of our series wherein we propose a few measures that can be taken to tackle sexual harassment in Philippine schools.

In coming up with the solution, we realized that sexual harassment is a long-standing problem in many Catholic schools. Besides its prevention, it is important to tackle as well the culture that forms toxic masculinity, victim blaming, and the protection of harassers. Likewise, we understand that school authorities should have tackled the problem when it occurred instead of ignoring it (as they have these past years), and we condemn this practice. However, we were able to find research that girls in particular were able to defend themselves against attackers when they received such training. We then thought of how best to integrate this into schools, and that is through self-defense classes.

We also noted that there already exists committees in some schools that deal with the prevention of sexual harassment and helping victims (ex. ASHS Safe Spaces and LS Gender Hub). Nonetheless, we would like to propose further prevention through self-defense.

Since Catholic schools are conservative and thus hesitant to talk about sexual harassment issues and cases, we propose that adolescents be taught special self-defense classes during Physical Education. This will help students avoid being harassed as they would know how to protect themselves in situations where they might encounter sexual harassers. Before actual implementation, we suggest for there to be demo sessions and make any necessary improvements after.

Despite showing a conservative image, we encourage the schools to also hold special classes. Here, young students will be taught about the definition and types of sexual harassment, possible situations in which it can occur, and related issues like sexual grooming and consent. It is highly crucial that we teach people at a young age these issues to avoid harassment cases in the future.

Moreover, the guidance counselors can share reliable sources containing information on recognizing sexual harassment in certain environments (school, work, etc.) - as harassment is unpredictable and may occur anywhere, anytime. These articles also contain tips on how to protect yourself when such situations occur.

Welcome to part 4 of our series where we discuss the aspects as to why sexual harassment is still prevalent in Philippine schools.

With the Philippines being heavily influenced by Catholic ideals and values, the topic of sex and anything related to it are considered as taboo, and therefore not properly discussed in communities like that of at home and in school. Due to this, the opinions and statements of the Church greatly impact most Catholic schools in the Philippines, making it challenging to discuss the importance of sex education to students, as well as related issues, mainly being consent and sexual harassment.

Welcome to part 3 of our series where we tackle the prevalence of sexual harassment in Philippine schools.

Welcome to part 2 of our series where we tackle the prevalence of sexual harassment in Philippine schools.

The issue of sexual harassment should never be taken lightly. Victims of the said abuse have been encouraged to speak up against perpetrators. However, not much is being done about it, especially in Philippine schools. Despite this, we still push for awareness on the issue and all its surrounding factors.