Policy and Political Background T he Philippines ranks high in terms of gender equality. It placed first in Asia and ranked 5th in the world in 2013, according to the Global Gender Gap Report of the World Economic Forum issued that year. The government signed the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1980 and ratified the same in 1981. The country’s 1987 Constitution recognizes the role of women in nation-building, values the dignity of every human person and guarantees full respect for human rights. Over the last two decades, several laws designed to protect the rights of women and children were passed, but a review of these policies showed that the term “information and communications technology” (ICT) has not been categorically defined in Philippine statutes.6 Still, in the last decade the Philippines has been proactive in plugging the gaps in existing legislation through amendments or the creation of new laws to keep up with the changing pace of technology. For example, the Anti-Violence against Women and Children (VAWC) Act of 2004 (RA 9262) provided a comprehensive framework to address violence against women, including mechanisms to increase reporting, documentation and prosecution of such cases. However, this law included no provision on the use of ICT to commit acts of violence against women. As documented in Ruby’s case study, the ineffectiveness of the Anti-VAWC law was exposed when she used the law in filing charges against a former boyfriend who uploaded their private sex videos on the internet. While Ruby lost the case under the Anti-VAWC law, her crusade for redress facilitated the passage of the Anti-Photo and Video Voyeurism Act in 2010 (RA 9995). This piece of legislation has since become a very important point for recourse in cases of technology-related VAW. The law prohibits acts of taking, copying, reproducing photos and videos, and publishing these through VCD/DVD, the internet, cellular phones and other devices. As well, in 2013, legislators from both the Senate and House of Representatives filed separate bills to expand the coverage of RA 9262 to include digital harassment. 6 6 While ICT has not appeared in Philippine statutes, the term “information and communication system” has been defined in Sec. 2 of Republic Act 8792 or the Electronic Commerce Act of 2000 <End Violence: Women’s Rights and Safety Online>