MANILA – The Department of Tourism (DOT) will investigate a resort in Samal Island over a sexual harassment and gender discrimination complaint against its employees and management.
"The DOT is an advocate of gender equality and mainstreaming, and does not tolerate any form of gender-based harassment nor discrimination in its systems, structures, policies, programs, and processes. We enjoin the entire tourism industry to abide by our national laws on Gender and Development," it said in a statement on Thursday.
Isla Reta Beach Resort in Samal Island is under fire after Shannon Gonzaga, a transgender woman, reported that she experienced discrimination from the management of the establishment after she was prohibited from using the women's bathroom.
The said resort on Wednesday confirmed that it has a policy "not to allow transgenders to use the female shower area" and that the management has "no facility yet to cater to the transgenders' demand for a separate shower room."
Supporting Gonzaga, the University of the Philippines (UP) Babaylan said the policy itself is "discriminatory" and emphasized that "trans women are women, and as this and many other cases have proven, trans people are actually the ones getting harassed in restrooms."
Numerous Filipino transgender advocacy groups, through a joint statement, also scored the resort, saying the policy violates a person's basic rights and dignity.
"The resort owner’s statement tries to justify their discriminatory policy and the incident of harassment through remarks that reeks of stigma and prejudice. Aside from it being an act of gender-based discrimination, it violates a person’s basic rights and dignity," the statement reads.
"Furthermore, this is in direct violation of the Safe Spaces Act, which prohibits gender-based and sexual harassment in public spaces, an act of violence that the trans community has endured for so long," they added. (PNA)
