In support to gender equality and in celebration of the National Women’s Month this March, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will be conducting advocacy activities such as the establishment of anti-Violence Against Women and Children’s (VAWC) desks in Robinson’s Novaliches and Ever Gotesco, Commonwealth, both in Quezon City, from March 13 to 24, 2023.

The anti-VAWC desks will be handled by social workers to provide appropriate information on anti-VAWC laws and interventions in case there will be victims who will report their experiences.

The DSWD will also be launching a digital advocacy campaign featuring the rights of women, supportive laws on women empowerment, as well as information on programs and services that are available to women.

Moreover, the DSWD will feature a collection of gender and development (GAD) knowledge products at its Knowledge Exchange Center (KEC) for the whole duration of the celebration. The knowledge products may be accessed by visitors and all personnel of the Department at the KEC.

Aside from joining the nation in raising public awareness, the DSWD will also be holding a series of activities to impress upon its employees the importance of championing women’s rights as part of the Department’s strengthened GAD campaign.

Likewise, in support to the Philippine Commission on Women’s campaign, the DSWD declared every Wednesday as “Purple” day in DSWD, the globally recognized color of the month-long celebration.  The DSWD will also support the use of the hashtag #WecanbeEquaLL in all its activities.

Furthermore, the DSWD will be hosting the open conversations on GAD, conduct GAD webinars, trivia games and similar simple, yet informative activities on gender equality and empowerment of women to raise awareness among employees.

As the month-long celebration has already commenced, the Department encourages the public to observe and participate in the National Women’s Month celebration, in recognition of the significant contributions of the women sector in nation building. ###