HIDDEN MENACE

Gabrielle D. Sison

Not all sexual harassments are experienced through physical contact, they can also be experienced
verbally. No matter who the person is, how old he or she is, what sexual orientation he or she belongs to or
what he or she is wearing, anyone can experience street harassment or catcalling anywhere.

Whether it may be through wolf-whistling, staring, shouting or making malicious comments, catcalling
has become a rising issue in our country and most especially to Filipino women. When a man catcalls, he is
emphasizing his dominance or sexual desire over the female target making her feel vulnerable, unsecure,
uncomfortable and scared. A man feels entitled to do anything to a woman while the woman feels obligated
to let those comments slide and take them in without insult because the man has “more control” over her.
With this never-ending problem, the security and suppleness of a woman, which was never a problem in the
first place, is now threatened.

The City Council of Manila has recently taken action to this matter by officially banning catcalling
through the implementation of Manila Ordinance No. 7857 which states that those caught wolf-whistling,
catcalling, leering, sexual jokes, persistent request of name, contact details and other forms of harassment are
punishable of 1-15 days of imprisonment and will be fined from Php200 to Php1000.

This ordinance is only implemented in Manila, it just goes to show that this has become normal to
every Filipino, catcalling has spread all over the country, we are not even sure of the state of a Filipino woman
living unsecure in the province. Though this ordinance is a stepping stone towards safer streets and a violence-
free environment, the government didn’t really eradicate the root cause, catcalling is just a symptom amongst
the many causes of sexual harassment. One of the root causes is sexual objectification wherein instead that
we see someone as a person who has equal rights and principles, we see them as an object that we can toy
around with therefore setting aside their dignity as a person.

You don’t need to study in a prestigious school to know that catcalling is wrong. Filipino men often
accuse women of wearing short or seductive clothing or any clothing that shows more skin for their actions of
catcalling. Some men also say that it is already in their nature as men have sexual interest towards a good
looking woman. Honestly, whatever a woman wears, it is still the man’s decision to call out the woman in a
malicious way. Even students who wear uniforms are being catcalled despite them wearing skirts and blouses
that don’t show that much skin. Men who catcall should learn how to respect women like the way the treat
their mothers, sisters or any woman close to them because the women they catcall are also mothers, women
and daughters. In western countries, women are often seen wearing crop tops, short dresses or short shorts
and some even go naked when going to the beach, but men in those countries don’t mind, they still treat
women with respect and decency regardless of what they wear.

But not all men should take the blame when it comes to catcalling, some women who dress less so that
they feel that they are more worthy of praises. Sometimes, social discrimination can be observed when a
woman is being catcalled; when good-looking or rich men catcall a woman, it can be taken as a compliment
but if a girl is catcalled by some “tambays” or just a mediocre looking man on the street, it is a sign of
disrespect towards the woman. But whatever social status the man is, it is wrong to sexually objectify a
woman regardless of thr flowery word or positive adjectives they carry. But a girl doesn’t need to dress in a
certain manner where most of her skin is showing in order to be called beautiful, she just needs to be herself
and be kind to other people so in that way, she may earn the respect she deserves.
 Suffice it to say, we have no right to objectify women through the way she dresses. We must learn how
to respect women and men alike for we are all equally created. A woman is not an item, a token nor a reward,
but she is a woman that deserves respect and is someone who deserves to wear anything just as long as she is
confident on who she is and what she is wearing. So if you see some catcalling, it just shows who they truly are
as a person.