The Juvenile Justice and Welfare Council (JJWC) through the JJWC – Gender Focal Point System (GFPS) in coordination with Regional Juvenile Justice and Welfare Committees (RJJWCs) II, IV-A, and V trained Bahay Pag-Asa (BPA) staff on Basic Gender and Development (GAD) as part of the support to BPA Project on August 29 – September 1, 2023 in Manila.
“One of the components of the Support to BPA Project is capacity building. JJWC wants to build and strengthen the capacities of our BPA staff to manage cases of children in conflict with the law (CICL) in our facilities. This includes addressing gender issues and concerns in our facilities,” said GFPS Chairperson and JJWC Executive Director Atty. Tricia Clare A. Oco.
The training aims to deepen understanding and heighten awareness that affects both children and adults in BPA or other facilities and identify concrete recommendations and proposals to address gender bias in facilities toward more holistic intervention programs for children.
It was participated in by sixteen (16) Bahay Pag-Asas (BPAs) from the Luzon region. For Region II, BPA Cauayan City and BPA Santiago City, Region CALABARZON, BPA Batangas City, BPA Biñan City, Second Chance Home Calamba City, Pag-Asa Youth Rehab Center Sta. Rosa City, RCYC Rizal, BPA Laguna, Bahay Aruga Nasugbu, BPA Silang, BPA Dasmarinas, BPA Tanauan, BPA Bacoor, and for Region V, BPA Camarines Norte, BPA Tabaco, and BPA Sorsogon.
Among the topics that were discussed were: Basic GAD Concepts, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Expression, and Sexual Characteristics (SOGIESC), Agents of Socialization, Manifestations of Gender Bias, Laws on Gender Mainstreaming, Space Spaces Act, and Gender Fair and Inclusive BPA and Society by the JJWC-GAD Resource Pool and Secretariat.
To support the BPAs in addressing gender issues and concerns, JJWC shall provide coaching and mentoring to support BPAs in crafting their Manual of Operations and Child Protection Policy (with active participation of children), continue implementation of support to BPA at the regional level, and support RJJWCs in its conduct of Basic GAD Training for BPA residents.
To date, the JJWC-GFPS has oriented a total of 52 BPAs nationwide including 19 from Visayas and 17 from Mindanao.
