Philippine Alliance of Women With Disabilities Though common knowledge in the Deaf community, the existence of deaf sex workers are virtually unknown to the government. In some of these clusters, deaf pimps and syndicates are involved, adding tremendous secrecy and complexity to the situation. Groups of as many as 15-30 deaf women or children were reported trafficked in Southern Luzon and Central Visayas a few years ago but the absence of interpreters hindered investigation by the police, and support of victims by social workers. To date the whereabouts of all these deaf individuals, primarily deaf women and girls, remain unknown. Recommendation for Prostitution: Study, investigate, prosecute and sanction traffickers, and establish accessible programmes for identification, protection, assistance and legal support of victims of trafficking and sexual exploitation, including provision of access to shelters, legal, medical and psychosocial assistance and alternative income-generating opportunities. On Political and Public Life; Representation Information on recent developments 1. Barriers to the right to vote appear to relate more to disability rather than gender, and notably, there were greater efforts to consider the needs of voters with disabilities in the recent May 2016 elections30. 2. However, there is no monitoring of numbers of women with disabilities occupying positions in decision-making government bodies. Despite this being a target in the regional Incheon Strategy (cf Article 2), even the recent national and local elections in May reveal very few (if any) women with disabilities who are able to hold office, specially at the national level. In the past, women with disabilities who are able to land political positions disproportionately come from those who have mobility impairments. This appears to be because of the fact that the political environment largely does not provide accessibility to women of other types of impairments. e.g., sensory impairments (the deaf, blind). 3. Despite the upcoming turnover of the Philippine government to a new administration after the national elections on May 9, representation of women with disabilities in the government Philippine Commission on Women still remains elusive. A Commissioner shall again be appointed jointly for the elderly as well as women with disabilities. In the past, the appointee usually comes from the sector of elderly women, typically, a woman who is not well versed with the issues of women with disabilities. 4. Many women with disabilities leaders aspire for participation in public as well as private organizations. However, accessibility frequently hinders them from being included. Even in CSO women’s organizations, women with disabilities are unable to fully engage with the rest of the movement because of the absence or lack of support and the accompanying costs, of, for instance sign language interpretation, commuting (public transportation is generally not accessible), and of personal assistance (for those with mobility, visual or psychosocial disabilities). Recommendations for Political and Public Life; Representation: Document and actively promote and support the participation of women, including women with disabilities in political and public life at both the national and local levels, especially in decision-making positions. Eliminate barriers that prevent women from disadvantaged sectors such as women with disabilities, from being fully represented and participating in public as well as private decision-making bodies. 30 Cebu groups join forces for PWD-inclusive 2016 http://www.rappler.com/nation/politics/elections/2016/126235-cebu-persons-with-disability-friendly elections. 7