'Upskirting' is latest form of violence vs women
'Upskirting' is latest form of violence vs women
Posted 11:49pm (Mla time) Mar 11, 2005
By Rina Jimenez-David
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A15 of the March 12, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
NEW YORK -- It's called "upskirting." And it's the latest form of sexual exploitation, voyeurism, commercialization and even violence being directed against women these days.
As a segment on the "Today" show explains, "upskirting" is carried out by sickos who carry portable video cameras in bags, then stand very close to unknowing women wearing skirts, filming the "view" the camera captures. Filming women's thighs and underwear is bad enough, but the voyeurs have found another sickening use for information technology, broadcasting their footage on the Internet (there are apparently "upskirting" sites) and even through cell phones.
Really, these days, thanks to new technology, there are seemingly no limits to the imagination and creativity of the world's perverts and sexual predators.
Which is why discussions in the ongoing review of the Beijing Platform for Action, formulated a decade ago, often seems to be nothing more than rearguard action. Even as delegations debate new resolutions on violence against women and the trafficking for sexual purposes of women and girls, new forms of violence and exploitation, such as "upskirting," are being developed and popularized.
And yet, governments around the world are only now recognizing trafficking as a form of violence and exploitation. Only lately have governments of both "sending" countries (such as the Philippines) and "receiving" countries seen fit to coordinate their efforts to quell the global trade in women and girls, to enact laws that punish not only the women who cross borders and perhaps break immigration laws, but more appropriately the men who profit from the trade.
* * *
ONE of the more controversial resolutions in this "Beijing+10" Review is that authored by the United States entitled, "Reducing the demand for trafficked women and girls." The resolution seeks to curb trafficking by focusing on what's known as the "demand side" -- targeting sex tourism and prostitution.
Other delegations, especially the European Union and NGOs advocating for women's human rights, have raised objections to this resolution, saying it "links trafficking to prostitution, which is the wrong way to approach the problem."
The Women, Environment and Development Organization (Wedo) declared that "we do not want women to be punished and the reason why they engage in such activities has to do with poverty issues and empowerment, and countries should first look into these factors."
For its part, the Philippines, which has taken the lead in advocating on the issue of trafficking in the UN, has just managed to have a comprehensive resolution on global cooperation on trafficking in the General Assembly. The task facing the delegation, therefore, is how to wed this comprehensive resolution with the new one being introduced by the US.
* * *
AMBASSADOR to the United Nations Lauro Baja hosted members of the Philippine delegation for dinner at his residence Monday. Part of the appeal was certainly the fact that the residence is in a townhouse that was bought by Imelda Marcos, made notorious by video clips of the raucous parties held at the in-house disco.
Though showing signs of age, the residence is still quite an impressive place, retaining signs of Imeldific opulence. But the Bajas have also furnished the residence with Philippine-made furniture, art and accessories that appear right at home amid the elegant surroundings. Only four floors (including a basement) are currently in use right now, since we're told that the government can ill-afford to rehabilitate the top three floors.
Even without a disco, though, the ambassador has installed even more effective technology for oiling the social gears of diplomacy. After a buffet dinner of well-loved Filipino favorites, we went down to the basement for coffee and karaoke. When he entertains the other UN delegations, he said, a karaoke session always ensures that the evening ends on a high note.
* * *
WORK at the UN mission has been particularly hectic since the Philippines became a member of the Security Council. Indeed, a senior official said "about 90 percent" of the mission's workload these days has to do with Security Council affairs. Perhaps the heavy demands on his staff is one reason Ambassador Baja requested that the majority of his staff be composed of younger and relatively "junior" members of the diplomatic service. A member of our delegation, who had occasion to work with UN missions over the last decade or so, attests to the energy and conscientiousness of the mission staff this time around.
A member of the Philippine delegation is Cleofe Natividad, gender and development coordinator for the Department of Foreign Affairs. It was she who guided the delegation members through the steps involved in negotiations in an international conference such as this "Beijing + 10" Review.
Coordinating matters between the mission and the delegation is Ivy Banzon, a young foreign service officer, who has impressed everyone with her intimate knowledge of the issues under discussion and her ability to summarize talking points.
Of course, the support the mission has lent the delegation was made possible only because of the support rendered by the ambassador himself, who impressed everyone early on when he not only took part in a forum on women in conflict situations, but also stayed on to take questions at the open forum.
I should also mention that the current chair of the UN body monitoring compliance of governments with the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (Cedaw) is retired Ambassador Rosario Manalo, who has been one of the country's leading lights in the international women's movement.
Posted 11:49pm (Mla time) Mar 11, 2005
By Rina Jimenez-David
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A15 of the March 12, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
NEW YORK -- It's called "upskirting." And it's the latest form of sexual exploitation, voyeurism, commercialization and even violence being directed against women these days.
As a segment on the "Today" show explains, "upskirting" is carried out by sickos who carry portable video cameras in bags, then stand very close to unknowing women wearing skirts, filming the "view" the camera captures. Filming women's thighs and underwear is bad enough, but the voyeurs have found another sickening use for information technology, broadcasting their footage on the Internet (there are apparently "upskirting" sites) and even through cell phones.
Really, these days, thanks to new technology, there are seemingly no limits to the imagination and creativity of the world's perverts and sexual predators.
Which is why discussions in the ongoing review of the Beijing Platform for Action, formulated a decade ago, often seems to be nothing more than rearguard action. Even as delegations debate new resolutions on violence against women and the trafficking for sexual purposes of women and girls, new forms of violence and exploitation, such as "upskirting," are being developed and popularized.
And yet, governments around the world are only now recognizing trafficking as a form of violence and exploitation. Only lately have governments of both "sending" countries (such as the Philippines) and "receiving" countries seen fit to coordinate their efforts to quell the global trade in women and girls, to enact laws that punish not only the women who cross borders and perhaps break immigration laws, but more appropriately the men who profit from the trade.
* * *
ONE of the more controversial resolutions in this "Beijing+10" Review is that authored by the United States entitled, "Reducing the demand for trafficked women and girls." The resolution seeks to curb trafficking by focusing on what's known as the "demand side" -- targeting sex tourism and prostitution.
Other delegations, especially the European Union and NGOs advocating for women's human rights, have raised objections to this resolution, saying it "links trafficking to prostitution, which is the wrong way to approach the problem."
The Women, Environment and Development Organization (Wedo) declared that "we do not want women to be punished and the reason why they engage in such activities has to do with poverty issues and empowerment, and countries should first look into these factors."
For its part, the Philippines, which has taken the lead in advocating on the issue of trafficking in the UN, has just managed to have a comprehensive resolution on global cooperation on trafficking in the General Assembly. The task facing the delegation, therefore, is how to wed this comprehensive resolution with the new one being introduced by the US.
* * *
AMBASSADOR to the United Nations Lauro Baja hosted members of the Philippine delegation for dinner at his residence Monday. Part of the appeal was certainly the fact that the residence is in a townhouse that was bought by Imelda Marcos, made notorious by video clips of the raucous parties held at the in-house disco.
Though showing signs of age, the residence is still quite an impressive place, retaining signs of Imeldific opulence. But the Bajas have also furnished the residence with Philippine-made furniture, art and accessories that appear right at home amid the elegant surroundings. Only four floors (including a basement) are currently in use right now, since we're told that the government can ill-afford to rehabilitate the top three floors.
Even without a disco, though, the ambassador has installed even more effective technology for oiling the social gears of diplomacy. After a buffet dinner of well-loved Filipino favorites, we went down to the basement for coffee and karaoke. When he entertains the other UN delegations, he said, a karaoke session always ensures that the evening ends on a high note.
* * *
WORK at the UN mission has been particularly hectic since the Philippines became a member of the Security Council. Indeed, a senior official said "about 90 percent" of the mission's workload these days has to do with Security Council affairs. Perhaps the heavy demands on his staff is one reason Ambassador Baja requested that the majority of his staff be composed of younger and relatively "junior" members of the diplomatic service. A member of our delegation, who had occasion to work with UN missions over the last decade or so, attests to the energy and conscientiousness of the mission staff this time around.
A member of the Philippine delegation is Cleofe Natividad, gender and development coordinator for the Department of Foreign Affairs. It was she who guided the delegation members through the steps involved in negotiations in an international conference such as this "Beijing + 10" Review.
Coordinating matters between the mission and the delegation is Ivy Banzon, a young foreign service officer, who has impressed everyone with her intimate knowledge of the issues under discussion and her ability to summarize talking points.
Of course, the support the mission has lent the delegation was made possible only because of the support rendered by the ambassador himself, who impressed everyone early on when he not only took part in a forum on women in conflict situations, but also stayed on to take questions at the open forum.
I should also mention that the current chair of the UN body monitoring compliance of governments with the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (Cedaw) is retired Ambassador Rosario Manalo, who has been one of the country's leading lights in the international women's movement.
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