Special Investigator Maria Voy A. Belen, Regional Gender Focal facilitated the FGD and
she reminded all the government service providers and CSOs, that the activity was on record so as
not to violate the privacy of each participant.
Investigator Belen discussed a little background the Commission on Human Rights (CHR)
as a Gender Ombud under the Magna Carta of Women and discussed the topic on” Women
fisherfolks under the Magna Carta of Women. She also mentioned that the Magna Carta of Women
(RA 9710), enacted in 2009, reiterates the protection of women and girls from all forms violence.
It also identified women fisherfolks as among the marginalized sectors. Under said law, women
fisherfolks are defined as women who are:
“directly or indirectly engaged in taking, culturing, or processing
fishery or aquatic resources. These include, but are not limited to
women engaged in fishing in municipal water, coastal and marine
areas, women workers in commercial fishing and aquaculture,
vendors and processors of fish and coastal products, and subsistence
producers such as shell-gatherers, managers, and producers of
mangrove resources, and other related produce.”.
Special Investigator Maria Voy A. Belen, Regional Gender Focal gave a quick background
why the FGD was brought about and then presented the general objectives for the conduct of the
FGD as follows:
● Establish a baseline pertaining to the roles and participation of women in small scale fishing,
and of the issues of women fisherfolks including trafficking and GBV, the implementation
of MCW provisions on women fisherfolks, and the impact of the pandemic;
● Gather regional data on women fisherfolks and GBV during the COVID-19 Pandemic and
the new normal, creating partnerships with communities and CSOs and strengthening CHR
regional office’s situation monitoring on women in the marginalized sectors as Gender
Ombud in their respective regions;
In addition, the following are more specific objectives of the focus group discussion:
1.
2.
To render visible and document the roles and tasks undertaken by women fisherfolks in
the household and in the community;
To monitor the implementation of MCW provisions on women fisherfolks by looking at:
women’s roles, economic participation and recognition, access to information, resources,
and food production; Experiences of marginalization, discrimination; Gender Based