SCHOOL-BASED GENDER-RESPONSIVE BASIC EDUCATION POLICY

SCHOOL-BASED GENDER-RESPONSIVE BASIC EDUCATION POLICY

I. INTRODUCTION

          Anselmo A. Sandoval Memorial National High School supports the Department of Education in its Gender and Development (GAD) mandate as stipulated in the 1987 Philippine Constitution, RA 9710 or the Magna Carta for Women, RA 10533 or the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 and the Philippines’ International Human Rights Commitments to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

            This policy aims to provide all members of staff, students and stakeholders with a clear and secure framework for ensuring Anselmo A. Sandoval Memorial National High School’s commitment to integrate the principles of gender equality, gender equity, gender sensitivity and non-discrimination and human rights in the provision and governance of basic education in line with DepEd’s mandate to ensure access to quality basic education for all.

            The school as part of the Department of Education is committed under international and national laws to integrate gender equality into the principles, goals and processes of Philippine education. Thus, the school together with the Gender and Development Focal Point System led by the GFPS Chairperson or the School Principal ensures the compliance with the DepEd Order No. 32, s. 2017 or the Gender Responsive Basic Education Policy.

II. POLICY STATEMENT

          Anselmo A. Sandoval Memorial National High School aims to:

·         Promote inclusive education that ensures girls’ and boys’ and women’s and men’s equal access to learning opportunities, fair treatment in the learning process, and equitable outcomes as well as access to opportunities in all spheres of life;

Source: DepEd Order No. 32, s. 2017

·         Promote the protection of its students in all forms of gender-based violence, abuse, discrimination and bullying in the school;

·         Address gender-based barriers and different forms of discrimination as a result of being exposed to gender inequality suffered by vulnerable and marginalized groups;

·         Involve all learners, teachers, and non-teaching personnel and other stakeholders in the promotion of gender equality and non-discrimination; and

·         Continuously enhanced its compliance to all the necessary policies implemented by the Department of Education.

III. DEFINITION OF TERMS

Child Protection	Refers to programs, services, procedures, and structures that are intended to prevent and respond to abuse, neglect, exploitation, discrimination and violence. Source: DepEd Order No. 40, s. 2012
Gender	Gender refers to the roles and responsibilities of women and men that are created in our families, our societies and our cultures. The concept of gender also includes the expectations held about the characteristics, aptitudes and behaviors of both women and men (femininity and masculinity). These roles and expectations are learned. They can change over time and they vary within and between cultures. The concept is vital because it facilitates gender analysis revealing how women's subordination is socially constructed. As such, the subordination can be changed or ended. It is not biologically predetermined nor is it fixed forever. Source: ABC of Women Worker’s Rights and Gender Equality, ILO, Geneva, 2000
Gender and Development (GAD	Refers to the development perspective and process that is participatory and empowering, equitable, sustainable, free from violence, respectful of human rights, supportive of self-determination and actualization of human potentials. It seeks to achieve gender equality as a fundamental value that should be reflected in development choices and contends that women are active agents of development, not just passive recipients of development Source: PCW Memorandum Circular No. 2011-01
Gender Awareness	Refers to the ability to identify problems arising from gender inequality and discrimination, even if these are not immediately apparent. Source: UNGEI (DepEd Order No. 32, s. 2017)
Gender-Based Violence	Refers to violence that targets individuals or groups on the basis of their gender. This includes acts that inflict physical, mental, or sexual harm or suffering, the threat of such acts, coercion, and other deprivation of liberty Source: UN (DepEd Order No. 32, s. 2017)
Gender-Based Discrimination	Refers to any gender-based distinction, exclusion or restriction that has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by men and women regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, and civil status, on the basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil, or any other field. Source: DepEd Order No. 32, s. 2017
Gender Equality	Refers to the principles asserting the equality of men and women and their rights to enjoy equal conditions realizing their full human potentials to contribute to and benefit from the results of development, and with the state recognizing that all human beings are free and equal in dignity and rights. Source: MCW (DepEd Order No. 32, s. 2017)
Gender Equity	Moves beyond a focus on equal treatment. It means giving to those who have less on the basis of needs, and taking steps to compensate for historical and social disadvantages that prevent women and men from otherwise operating on a level playing field. Source: NCRFW (DepEd Order No. 32, s. 2017)
Gender Expression	Refers to the way in which a person acts to communicate gender within a given culture.
Gender-Fair Language	Is understood as language that is gender sensitive or non-sexist Source: DepEd Order No. 32, s. 2017
Gender Identity	Is understood to refer to each person’s deeply felt internal and individual experience of gender, which may or may not correspond with the sex assigned at birth, including the personal sense of the body (which may involve, if freely chosen, modification of bodily appearance  by medical, surgical, or other means) and other expressions of gender, including dress, speech and mannerisms. Source: Yogyakarta Principles (DepEd Order No. 32, s. 2017)
Gender-Responsive Basic Education (GRBE)	Is inclusive education that ensures girls’ and boys’ and women’s and men’s equal access to learning opportunities, addresses gender-based barriers and the intersection of different forms of discrimination, takes affirmative steps where necessary to reduce gender gaps and disparities in the management of the learning process, provides children a learner-friendly environment that addresses their diverse learning needs and results in the progressive achievement of gender equality in educational outcomes. Source: DepEd Order No. 32, s. 2017
Gender Mainstreaming in Education	Is the process of assessing the implications for girls and boys or women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programs, at all levels of the education system. It is a strategy for making girls’ and women’s as well as boys’ and men’s, concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of education policies and programs so that girls and boys or women and men benefit equally, and inequality is not perpetuated. The ultimate goal is to achieve gender equality in education. Source: ECOSOC 1997/2 (DepEd Order No. 32, s. 2017)
Gender Responsiveness	Refers to taking action to correct gender bias and discrimination so as to ensure gender equality and equity. It entails consistent and systematic attention to the differences between men and women with a view to addressing structural constraints to gender equality Source: DepEd Order No. 32, s. 2017
GAD Plan and Budget (GPB)	Is not about creating separate budgets for women, or solely increasing spending on women’s programs. Rather, gender-responsive budgeting seeks to ensure that the collection and allocation of public resources is carried out in ways that are effective and contribute to advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment. It should be based on in-depth analysis that identifies effective interventions for implementing policies and laws that advance women’s rights. It provides tools to assess the different needs and contributions of men and women, and boys and girls within the existing revenues, expenditures, and allocations and calls for adjusting budget policies to benefit all groups. Source: UN Women (DepEd Order No. 32, s. 2017)
Gender Sensitivity	Is the ability to perceive existing gender differences, issues and inequalities and to incorporate these into strategies and actions. Source: Intrahealth International (DepEd Order No. 32, s. 2017)
Inclusive Education	Is an approach that enjoins schools to accommodate all children regardless of their physical, intellectual, emotional, social, linguistic, or other conditions (Article 3, Salamanca Framework for Action). Schools must adopt an inclusive orientation as a means of combating discriminatory attitudes, creating welcoming communities, building an inclusive society, and achieving education for all. Moreover, they provide an effective education to the majority of children and improve the efficiency and, ultimately, the cost-effectiveness of the entire education system. Source: DepEd Order No. 32, s. 2017
Sexual Orientation	Is understood to refer to each person’s capacity for profound emotional, affectional, and sexual attraction to, and intimate and sexual relations with, individuals of a different gender or the same gender or more than one gender. Source: Yogyakarta Principles (DepEd Order No. 32, s. 2017)
Intersectionality	Is an analytical tool for studying, understanding, and responding to the ways in which sex and gender intersect with and are constituted by other social factors such as age, class, disability, ethnicity, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, and other status. Source: DepEd Order No. 32, s. 2017
Violence Against Women and their Children (VAWC)	Refers to any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life, as provided under Republic Act 9262 or The Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act of 2014. Source: DepEd Order No. 32, s. 2017
Violence Against Children Committed in Schools	Refers to a single act or a series of acts committed by school administrators, academic, and non-academic personnel against a child, which result in or is likely to result in physical, sexual, psychological harm or suffering, or other abuses including threats of such acts, battery, assault, coercion, harassment, or arbitrary deprivation of liberty. It includes, but is not limited to, physical, sexual, psychological violence, and other acts of violence of a physical, sexual, or psychological nature that are prejudicial to the best interest of the child. Source: DepEd Order No. 32, s. 2017

IV. GENDER-RESPONSIVE BASIC EDUCATION

            Through the DepEd’s Gender-Responsive Basic Education Policy (GRBE), Anselmo A. Sandoval Memorial National High School is committed to:

·         Make its strategic framework gender-responsive

·         Mainstream gender in all policies and programs, projects and activities guided by the different DepEd Orders

·         Ensure gender parity in staffing and create an enabling work environment

·         Strengthen gender and development school mechanisms

o   GFPS

GFPS Head	Principal
Members	Department Head/Learning Area Coordinator Two designated Master Teachers (MTs) Guidance Counselor Designated Finance Personnel (Accountant, Disbursing Officer or Equivalent
Secretariat and M&E Committee	To be designated by the GAD Focal Point Person

V. POLICY MONITORING AND EVALUATION

            The School GFPS shall gather feedback on the implementation of the Gender-Responsive Basic Education Policy from all concerned internal and external stakeholders. It shall conduct a periodic review of the school-based policy to further enhanced its provisions and effectiveness and if it adheres to DepEd Order No. 32, s. 2017.