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Bato on women sharing bathroom with transgenders: 'Will they be safe?'

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Jamaine Punzalan, ABS-CBN News

<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/w4PTUAmkzqY?enablejsapi=1"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>MANILA - Women might experience sexual harassment if transgender women are allowed to share their comfort rooms, Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa said Tuesday, as lawmakers tackled a proposed law prohibiting gender-based discrimination.</p><p>Straight men could pretend to be transgender, enter a female comfort room and harass women there, said Dela Rosa, a former national police chief who said he backs gay marriage.</p><p>&quot;What if isang lalaking manyak, magsuot ng pambabae, mag-pretend to be a bakla, papasok doon sa CR, pwede syang mangharass,&quot; said Dela Rosa.</p><p>&quot;Are our sisters and daughters safe doon sa (there in) bathroom?&quot; he added during a Senate hearing on a proposed bill.</p><p>&quot;May anak din akong babae, mamaya mangyari iyan sa anak kong babae, bosohan sa CR,&quot; he said.</p><p>(I also have a daughter. That could happen to my daughter, someone might look in on her.)</p><p>There are no proven cases of transgender women harassing females in shared comfort rooms in the Philippines, said Naomi Fontanas, president of LGBT group Ganda Filipinas.</p><p>Studies show that most victims of sexual abuse personally know their aggressors, said Fontanas. &quot;Stranger-to-stranger violence is very rare all over the world,&quot; she added.</p><p>Sexual violence, she added, &quot;can happen anywhere&quot; and &quot;can be addressed by existing laws.&quot;</p><p>&quot;It does not mean that because there&#x27;s sexual violence, we don&#x27;t have to pass the SOGIE Equality bill and protect members of the LGBTIQ from discrimination,&quot; she said.</p><p>The SOGIE or Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression bill prohibits stigmatizing the LGBT in media and denying a person access to an institution, service or establishment based on gender, among others.</p><p>If passed into law, SOGIE can increase security in restrooms because establishments would be mandated to assign personnel there, said Gretchen Diez, a trans woman who was briefly detained after trying to use a female restroom earlier this month.</p><div><strong>RELATED STORIES:</strong></div><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/08/16/19/trans-woman-to-senators-step-up-your-game-on-sogie-bill">Trans woman to senators: &#x27;Step up your game&#x27; on SOGIE bill</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/08/14/19/gusto-lang-namin-magbanyo-ice-seguerra-nakisimpatya-kay-gretchen-diez">&#x27;Gusto lang namin magbanyo&#x27;: Ice Seguerra, nakisimpatya kay Gretchen Diez</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/15/19/palace-calls-for-respect-for-lgbt-rights-after-discrimination-vs-trans-woman">Palace calls for respect for LGBT rights after discrimination vs trans woman</a></li></ul>

<p>Women might experience sexual harassment if transgender women are allowed to share their comfort rooms, Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa said Tuesday, as lawmakers tackled a proposed law prohibiting gender-based discrimination.</p>

Women might experience sexual harassment if transgender women are allowed to share their comfort rooms, Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa said Tuesday, as lawmakers tackled a proposed law prohibiting gender-based discrimination.

Bato on women sharing bathroom with transgenders: 'Will they be safe?'

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Bato on women sharing bathroom with transgenders: 'Will they be safe?'

Jamaine Punzalan,

ABS-CBN News

Published Aug 20, 2019 01:38 PM PHT

|

Updated Aug 20, 2019 01:57 PM PHT

Read More:

ANC

Senate

Senate hearing

Bato Dela Rosa

gender

sexuality

SOGIE

restrooms

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