In coalition with local government units of Amlan, San Jose, Sibulan and Dumaguete, the NGO Gender Watch against Violence & Exploitation (GWAVE) hosted a Fun Bike-Skate-Half Marathon to End Gender-Based Violence.
The goal of the event was to strengthen partnerships with the LGUs in the advocacy to end gender-based violence, and to raise awareness and to encourage the community to act towards the elimination of gender-based violence.
The event was made possible through the active cooperation and support of the four LGUs, private organizations, and individuals who contributed t-shirts snacks, dinner, drinks, and water for the riders/runners/skaters. Amlan and San Jose provided transportation for the skateboards and cyclists from Dumaguete to Amlan. The PNP provided officers along the highway to ensure the safety of the participants, and the Red Cross sent volunteers to provide first aide and emergency care.
The 23 km. bike-skate-run started in Amlan with a short message from Mayor Bentham Dela Cruz, and ended in Dumaguete City, with stops in San Jose and Sibulan where Mayors Carmelo Emmanuel Remollo and Emannuel Diputado gave their own messages affirming their support and commitment to work alongside GWAVE to work to end all gender-based violence in their communities.
Amlan Mayor dela Cruz also gave his testimony in every LGU about GWAVE’s work through the Men’s project which gave birth to the Men Against Violence in Amlan (MAVA).
Dumaguete Mayor Manuel “Chiquiting” Sagarbarria gave a short message of continued support and collaboration. The event culminated at Quezon Park in Dumaguete, as the evening rain slowly started to patter down on the weary but enthusiastic participants.
A prayer of thanksgiving brought the day’s events to a close; for although the work was done for the day, the work that is left to be done is far from over.
The UN defines gender-based violence as “… any act of violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.”
In 2013 alone, there were 280 clients of gender-based violence who went to GWAVE; however, the number is only a small fraction of the actual number of women who suffer abuse every year.
Often, many cases of gender-based violence are never brought to light, due to familial and societal pressures that force women to stay quiet about their abuse.
Still in many areas of the Philippines, abuse against women is seen as a family issue to be handled behind closed doors, and not a community issue that should be reported to the authorities right away.
GWAVE is working with local LGUs through events like the fun bike-skate-run to change the perception in the local communities of Negros Oriental, and also to publicly launch its program on Men for Violence-Free Communities and Advocacy & Capacity-Building for barangay officials in San Jose and Sibulan — something that has already started in Amlan and Dumaguete.
Close to 300 participants took part in the event spanning through a wide range of backgrounds from children to senior citizens — like 69-year-old ultra-marathoners Enrique Villareal of Bacong, and 62-year-old Franco Divino of Sibulan — all against all forms of gender-based violence.
“It was really good to see such a wide range of people come out, and speak up against such an important topic as gender-based violence, from Mayors on their bicycles, to the youth on their long boards, having fun for a good cause. It is really encouraging that we are making headway in our advocacy,” an organizer was quoted as saying. (GWAVE)
