10/09/2026
💜💜💜
𝗣𝗖𝗪 𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗦𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗮𝗳𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗔𝗰𝘁 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀
The Philippine Commission on Women launched a standardized Training Guide for the Gender Sensitivity Seminar (GSS) for Perpetrators of the Safe Spaces Act (SSA) during the country’s first-ever CODI Summit on August 13, 2026, marking a significant milestone six years after the pioneering GSS session conducted at the Pasig City Jail in March 2020.
The Training Guide provides trainers with a structured, gender-responsive approach to delivering GSS as a rehabilitative intervention for first-time offenders of gender-based sexual harassment in public spaces under Republic Act No. 11313, or SSA, who are ordered by the courts to undergo the seminar as part of their community service
The module consists of three sessions focusing on gender norms and gender-based violence; empathy and healthy relationships; and personal accountability. Rather than treating the seminar as a compliance requirement, the Guide is designed to facilitate reflection, challenge harmful gender norms and attitudes, and encourage participants to take responsibility for their behavior.
The launch comes amid a steady increase in court-ordered referrals for GSS received by PCW, underscoring the growing need for a consistent and gender-responsive approach to the intervention.
In her message of support, PCW Executive Director Nharleen L. Santos-Millar emphasized that the Guide seeks to move the intervention beyond mere compliance toward meaningful reflection and behavioral change.
“It is a product of practice, reflection, pilot-testing, feedback, revision, and collaboration. It carries with it the experiences of the people who helped test it, facilitate it, critique it, and improve it.”
Beginning in 2027, PCW plans to roll out the module to local government units and Philippine National Police offices nationwide. The rollout will also support the development of a pool of trainers equipped to facilitate meaningful conversations on gender, accountability, empathy, and behavioral change among offenders.
A digital copy of the Training Guide for GSS for Perpetrators of the SSA will soon be made available through the PCW Digital GAD Library. As co-chair of the Inter-Agency Oversight Committee on the Safe Spaces Act, PCW continues to work with partner agencies to strengthen the implementation of the law and promote coordinated and gender-responsive interventions.
