FOSTERING SAFE SPACES FOR WOMEN AND LGBTQIA+ COMMUNITY

SDG 5 – GENDER EQUALITY

De La Salle University aims to protect the rights and dignity of their female and LGBTQIA+ students, staff, and faculty. This means clear policies on gender discrimination and sexual harassment and raising awareness on gender sensitivity. The campus prioritizes creating a gender-diverse community and extending awareness on social issues that affect marginalized groups. 

The DLSU Safe Spaces Policy, revised in 2021, outlines due processes for gender-based offenses and offers support for victims. Acts such as derogatory remarks, harassment, and assault can be reported as a case, to be evaluated by the Committee on Decorum and Investigation (CODI). The committee works with the Coordinator for Gender Responsiveness and Safe Spaces,  Lasallian Center for Inclusion, Diversity and Well-being (LCIDWell), University Legal Counsel, and The Council for Inclusion, Diversity and Well-being (CIDW) to ensure proper judgement and sanctions for the offense/s. The policy aims to protect not just women, but the LGBTQIA+ community from gender-based violence and sexual harassment.

LCIDWell regularly holds events to promote gender sensitivity and women’s issues to the general public. One ongoing project is the Pantay Lecture Series, launched in March 2023. The online series includes lectures on women and the LGBTQIA+ community, such as inclusive language, SOGIESC equality, and Catholic responses to inclusion and respect. The lectures have garnered over 1,000 participants since its launch. In spite of criticism from religious groups, the Pantay Lecture Series aims to continue to push for diversity and inclusivity in line with the Lasallian values of Communion. LCIDWell also conducts Gender Sensitivity Training and DLSU Safe Spaces Policy Orientations to staff units such as DLSU Parents of University Students Organization (DLSU-PUSO), security personnel, and administrators. Other webinars held by LCIDWell include talks on gynecological health, safe spaces for children, “multiple burdens” concept, virtual safe spaces for women and LGBTQIA+, and the experiences of mothers. 

LCIDWell was also one of the partner organizations for The Centre International de Formation des Autorités et Leaders (CIFAL) or International Training Centre for Authorities and Leaders’ Bridging the Gender Health Gap: A Forum on Addressing Period Poverty in the Philippines. Other partner organizations include the following: Quezon City Gender and Development Council, Asian Center, UP Diliman, UNDP Philippines, UP Center for Women’s and Gender Studies (UPCWGS), UPLB College of Development Communication Department of Science Communication (UPLB Devcom), UPLB Gender Center, UPLB Department of Human and Family Development Studies, UPLB Office of Anti-Sexual Harassment, UP Manila Center for Gender and Women Studies, and We Bleed Red Movement PH. The event was held at UP Diliman in May 2024, addressing the lack of accessible menstrual health management (MHM) for women, girls, persons with disabilities (PWDs), and elderly in the Philippines. The LCIDWell – Gender and Development and Safe Spaces (GADSS) unit also joined the 2024 DLSU Ancillary Celebration in collaboration with the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) to distribute educational resources on women and gender issues.  

Additionally, in August to September 2024, LCIDWell and the UP Center for Women’s and Gender Studies (UPCWGS) held a joint webinar entitled Gender Sensitivity and DLSU Safe Spaces Policy Orientation for DLSU Administrators AY 2023-2024. The three-day webinar tackled topics on strengthening gender inclusivity in academic institutions, featuring talks from LCIDWell Director Dr. Estesa Xaris Que Legaspi, UP professor BJ A. Patino, Former National Youth Commissioner Percival V. Cendana, and the Chair of Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Technical Panel on Women and Gender Studies Dr. Carolyn I. Sobritchea. In November 2024, LCIDWell Program Head for GADSS Mr. Christian Derek S. Guerra and Mr. Fritz Gerald Martin from DLSU Community, Culture, and Human Resources Services Office presented talks on gender equality, safe spaces, and gender identity in the workplace in a seminar organized by San Beda University Manila College of Nursing (SBU-CON). 

DLSU  J. Robredo Institute of Governance and The Iloilo State University of Fisheries Science and Technology (ISUFST) held a three-day workshop series in December 2024 to create and implement sustainable action plans to aid women and children in local communities. The workshops included Shaping Inclusive Futures: An Action Plan for ISUFST’s SDG Policy Center, Empowering Action: Developing Training and Activities for Effective Planning by professor Eddie Nuque, and Action Plan Roadmap for Equity: Envisioning a Policy Center for Women and Children by professor Ian Jayson Hecita. The frameworks created by selected participants were created in line with the United Nations’ (UN) 2030 agenda, as well as DLSU and ISUFST’s proposed policy summit in March 2025. The establishment of a policy center in the local region aims to extend SDG 5 policies to communities outside of the mainland. 

Through the Safe Spaces Policy and LCIDWell’s contributions, DLSU maintains its mission to protect women and gender-diverse communities. By tackling issues such as period poverty, women’s health, and SOGIE equality, the University destigmatizes gender-related topics and empowers women inside and outside campus.

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