Students, advocates call to end gender-based discrimination in schools

“The passage of the SOGIE Equality Bill is a crucial step, and one that is being strongly emphasized. These are essential government responsibilities to ensure that no space exists for abuse and discrimination, especially in places where people should be able to live, study, and work with dignity and without fear.”

Trigger warning: Mentions of bullying, suicide attempt

By Michel Joy Radam
Bulatlat.com

BULACAN – In the span of 15 years, Ziva Atibagos has experienced bullying and discrimination in school in the process of discovering his gender identity.

Atibagos went to First City Providential College (FCPC) from 2003 to 2018. In the last remaining years of his schooling, he was diagnosed with severe depression, and attempted to end his life several times due to compounding personal problems, which later on, adversely affected his scholarships. He said in an interview with Bulatlat that two scholarships were stripped off during his college years.

Atibagos is just one of many untold stories of the victims of gender-based discrimination in the Philippines, especially in schools. This is only a glimpse of many stories often left in the shadows that prompt the national gender rights formation Bahaghari to launch the Inclusive Schools Campaign.

Inclusive Schools Now is a campaign initiative that advocates for safe, equal, and inclusive learning environments, especially for LGBTQ+ students. It pushes for policy reforms in schools and even government agencies of the Department of Education (DepEd) and Commission on Higher Education (Ched) to end all forms of bullying and discrimination.

In an interview with Bulatlat, Bahaghari Chairperson Reyna Valmores Salinas said that the campaign for inclusive schools is not just about fighting discrimination it also ending all forms of situations where schools fail to protect young people.

“In fact, we believe that instead of mandatory ROTC, it would be more appropriate to have mandatory SOGIE Education, ” Salinas suggested. “Rather than forcing students into military training they may not want, we should make it a requirement for students to learn about their rights, so that they can better protect themselves from abuse.”

Mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), was once abolished in 2001 after the murder of Mark Welson Chua who exposed corruption within the ROTC program at the University of Santo Tomas. However, in July 2022 a month after assuming office, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and the Department of National Defense (DND) began pushing for its return to promote “nationalism and discipline”.

Read: PH Army supports PBBM’s call for mandatory ROTC

On June 13 this year, Bahaghari launched its first Inclusive Schools Now Grievance Form where aggrieved parties can report cases of discrimination on the basis of their Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Gender Expression, and Sexual Characteristics (SOGIESC) whether in school or workplace. 

The Grievance Form offers various types of support, such as psychosocial assistance (counseling sessions), legal aid (filing cases through partner legal networks), and extralegal actions (organizing campaigns, public call-outs, and advocating for reforms in student or office policies, including dress codes and other related matters).

Salinas said they have come up with this initiative due to multiple discriminatory cases reported to Bahaghari, and they hope that through this form, the organization could expand its reach and support more in addressing discriminatory cases nationwide. 

“These are not merely isolated incidents. We are fully aware that such cases occur nationwide. For this reason, we deemed it necessary to establish a centralized grievance form, enabling individuals from any part of the Philippines to report cases of discrimination. Through this platform, we commit to collectively pursuing justice and providing the appropriate support for each case,” Salinas stated.

Beyond the push for inclusivity in university, Gabriela Women’s Partylist National Vice Chairperson Sarah Elago addressed the passage of the SOGIESC Equality Bill ensuring broader scope protection against discrimination.

“The passage of the SOGIE Equality Bill is a crucial step, and one that is being strongly emphasized,” Elago said. “These are essential government responsibilities to ensure that no space exists for abuse and discrimination, especially in places where people should be able to live, study, and work with dignity and without fear.”

In the same school with Atibagos, Caramel, not her real name, a transgender, also experienced discrimination and harassment. Caramel was about to report to the guidance office that she was being bullied and targeted by gossip of her classmates. However, instead of addressing the issue and accommodating her complaint, the guidance office questioned her wearing eyeliner and makeup. She was also threatened to be expelled and suggested that Caramel should better go back to the school where she came from. Caramel eventually dropped out of school after the incident. 

The courage of the victims brings hope to the campaign for inclusive schools as Atibagos  chooses to take a stand and engage in advocacy. In 2021, Atibagos began creating content on Instagram as a body-positivity influencer, while also working as a freelance plus-size model and fighting for LGBTQIA+ rights.

“That’s how I heal, I try to speak for those who can’t, and be comfortable in my flaws to motivate others to accept their bodies. I show up on social media wearing sexy/skinny dresses/ootd as a biggie,” Atibagos said.

Three months after Bahaghari posted about Atibagos and Caramel’s experiences at FCPC, both revealed they have faced legal intimidation, ongoing anonymous threats, and online harassment from trolls. (AMU, RVO)

Author’s note: Bulatlat reached out to FCPC for comments. The writer will update the article once the school responds.

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