MAKING DATA WORK FOR WOMEN’S HUMAN RIGHTS
A Proposed Framework for the CHR Observatory on Gender-Based Violence*
Table of Contents
1. Gender-Based Violence Documentation and Research ....................................................................................2
2. The GBV Observatory Project .................................................................................................................................3
3. Discussion on Findings .............................................................................................................................................4
3.1. Documentation and Referral Systems on GBV ............................................................................................. 4
3.2. Thematic Results of the Study ......................................................................................................................... 6
4. The GBV Observatory: Challenges and Potentials ............................................................................................. 10
5. Recommendations ................................................................................................................................................ 12
References ................................................................................................................................................................. 13
The CHR is the country’s Gender and Development Ombud, as designated by the Magna Carta of
Women of 2009 (Republic Act 9710). As such, it functions to –
…advocate for the promotion and protection of women’s human rights, strengthen its Human
Rights Education program, investigate violations including those committed by private institutions
or by private individuals, monitor compliance, and recommend appropriate measures to the CSC
[Civil Service Commission] or to the concerned department of the government for its effective
implementation. (Section 40)
Specifically, the CHR is tasked to monitor compliance to the provisions of the Magna Carta of
Women on gender equality, and develop indicators to guide such; establish guidelines and
mechanisms to facilitate women’s access to legal remedies against GBV; assist in the filing of GBV
cases; and submit regular reports to Congress assessing the compliance of government agencies to
the Magna Carta of Women and their recommendations (Section 40.A).
The establishment of a Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Observatory is a step for CHR to fulfil its
Gender Ombud functions. In general, Observatories work as resource centers or platforms for
building knowledge on certain thematic concerns, which in turn provide more solid foundations for
monitoring, research and advocacy, planning, policy and program development, and even service
delivery.
In countries where a Gender or Women’s Human Rights Observatory has been established, the
mechanism supported and facilitated actions mainstreaming gender equality. This is done by
providing references and knowledge products that can aid in the monitoring the status of gender
equality as well as in developing policies and programs to strengthen the environment for women’s
human rights. Some of the data collected and published by Gender Observatories are gender
statistics from local to national levels and on various themes, information on the country’s
*
This final version of the report is written by Nancy Endrinal Parreño and Ma. Rosalyn G. Mesina, and was submitted in June 2019.
It integrates the input from the validation meeting with stakeholders on 19 February 2019, as well as inputs from participants when
the GBV Observatory framework was launched on 29 November 2018, and in a forum with CHR regional directors and GAD focal
persons on 02 April 2019.