are allegedly prevalent but difficult to verify as these are taboos especially within Muslim
communities. This leaves women with limited or no access to justice.
b. As part of culture, early marriages and arranged marriages are widely practiced during
armed conflicts. Marrying off children, particularly daughters, lessens the responsibility or
burden of providing for the daily needs of and protecting family members in times of armed
conflict.
4. On Violence against women as experienced by indigenous women as discussed by Ellen
Dictaan of Tebtebba:
a. Ancestral lands are the core of the indigenous communities’ culture, and once they lose
it to displacement due to mining activities, dam construction and militarization, an
imbalance is created in their life system. This affects indigenous women who are usually
the food providers for their families. Their ancestral lands are sources of their crops and
traditional medicine. Economic displacement creates a big gap in their dignity as their
lands are part of their identity and where indigenous peoples’ communities rely for their
livelihood. As a consequence, women become dependent on their spouses or family
members for their subsistence.
b. Furthermore, displacements impact indigenous women as knowledge bearers in their
communities. Being forcibly displaced from their lands affect the core of their culture, thus
preservation and transfer of traditional knowledge are disrupted.
5. Problematizing Access to Justice (relevant to people with disabilities) - From the
discussions of Dr. Liza Martinez, Multi-Sectoral Consultation Workshop on the
Comprehensive Anti-Discrimination Bill, 4 August 2014)
a. Disability is not a standalone issue. Disability intersects with other bases of
discrimination including sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, race,
ethnicity, and religion.
b. The only existing law that seeks to protect persons with disabilities is the Magna Carta
of Persons with Disabilities of 1992 (RA 7277), and the subsequent amendment - An Act
Expanding the Positions Reserved for Persons with Disability, Amending for the Purpose
of Republic Act No. 7277, as amended, otherwise known as the Magna Carta for Persons
with Disability.2 Despite the amendment, the law is outdated. It only looks at discrimination
in employment, transportation, use of public accommodations and services.
c. Prosecution of discriminatory acts is difficult under this law: for the DOJ Secretary to act
on discrimination complaints, it must first be proven that there is a “pattern or practice of
discrimination” and that such act is an “issue of general public importance.”
d. Similarly problematic is the segregation via special education (SPED), involuntary
detention in mental health institutions (which violates right to liberty), and the non-provision
of interpreters during legal proceeding (e.g. the DOJ is slow in implementing its policy on
2
R.A. 10524, signed into law April 23, 2013