The Philippine Embassy in Brunei Darussalam joined the annual national observance of the 18-Day Campaign to End Violence Against Women from 25 November to 12 December 2022.

Guided by the recurring slogan “UNiTEd for a VAW-free Philippines”, the Embassy conducted activities aimed at promoting women’s rights and raising the awareness of overseas Filipinos in Brunei on various gender issues, particularly on violence against women.

This year, the Embassy launched its Gender and Development (GAD) microsite https://sites.google.com/dfa.gov.ph/bruneipe-gad/home which contains information, education and communication (IEC) materials, announcements on GAD-related activities, and other downloadable campaign materials. Bookmarks with the QR code to the GAD microsite, as well as simple tokens, were given to Embassy’s women-clients to promote the End VAW campaign and access to the microsite.

The highlight of the 2022 Anti-VAW Campaign was the dialogue titled “Stand up for Women's Rights: Learning to Safeguard the Rights of Women in the Classroom” organized by the Embassy on 27 November 2022. The dialogue focused on promoting and protecting women’s rights and imparted knowledge on the prevention and reporting of any form of physical and emotional abuse or violence against women.

The speakers during the forum were professionals and experts on women and children’s rights. Nur Judy binti Abdullah, Founder and Executive Director of Project Women, a not-for-profit social enterprise in Brunei Darussalam, gave a presentation on the ASEAN Consensus on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers, safeguarding the rights of women OFWs in the workplace, and prevention of sexual harassment in schools and the workplace.

The Head of the Women and Child Abuse Unit of the Royal Brunei Police Force (RBPF), DSP Norkhatijah Binti Hj Zainal, delivered a presentation on the laws of Brunei against violence and abuse of women and children, and shared statistics and case studies on reported incidences.

The dialogue was attended by overseas Filipino teachers and professionals and personnel of the Philippine Embassy..

The Embassy regularly conducts Gender and Development programs that promote relevant issues for the benefit of Filipinos in Brunei. END