San Teodoro, Oriental Mindoro – A total of 451 Pantawid Pamilya partner-beneficiaries attended the Gender Sensitivity Training (GST) cum Economic Empowerment Trainings in four (4) out of eight (8) targeted barangays in San Teodoro, Oriental Mindoro. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) MiMaRoPa conducted the trainings together with the help of the Municipal Social Welfare and Development (MSWDO) staff.

The training aims to educate the partner-beneficiaries on the basic concepts of gender and development, economic empowerment that will contribute in the promotion of women empowerment and gender equality. It specifically aims to introduce to the participants the difference between sex and gender, gender stereotype and gender bias, gender division of labor, gender based violence, gender related laws and women economic empowerment through discussion on financial management.

The conduct of the GST among partner-beneficiaries was identified as a need by the municipal’s Local Poverty Reduction Action Team (LPRAT) of the Bottom-Up Budgeting (BUB), a national program that aims to eliminate poverty, to prevent and eventually provide intervention on the disturbing rate of gender-based violence.

“Hindi sapat na babae lang ang may alam ng kanyang karapatan. Dapat alam din ng mga kalalakihan ang mga ito upang tuluyang masugpo ang mga pang-aabuso at karahasan.,” said Pysche Mae Asencio, Regional Gender and Development Focal. She added that gender equality is not an issue of women alone but rather of men that they should take action. That is why they make sure that men attend their training also.

The training started last May 2015 and is continuous until the four remaining barangays in the municipality are conducted before the year ends. ###