The University of the Philippines Center for Women’s and Gender Studies (UPCWGS) hosted the Forum on Comprehensive Sexual Education and Menstrual Health on 28 March 2025 at the UPCWGS Conference Room. The event brought together advocates, educators, students, and policymakers for an insightful discussion on the vital role of menstrual health in comprehensive sexuality education (CSE). Speakers were Djoanna “Joie” Cortina of Lunas Collective, Dr. Via R. Gablan of FriendlyCare Clinic, Leigh Carcel of Ecoflo, and Jasmine T. Cruz of the UPCWGS who talked about key issues, including the stigma surrounding menstruation, the need for policy integration, and sustainable menstrual hygiene practices.

Fourteen Japanese students from Nihon Fukushi University and Kwansei Gakuin University specializing in social work visited the University of the Philippines Center for Women’s and Gender Studies (UPCWGS) on 25 March 2025 to learn more about its services, programs, and advocacy work. Organized by the non-governmental organization The O Home, a collective of artists, researchers, and mothers based in Quezon City and Makati, the purpose of the study tour is to gain a deeper understanding of Philippine society through the valuable work carried out by government and non-governmental organizations in the country. The students were accompanied by their professors Joe Takeda and Masaki Soeta.

As part of its Women’s Month celebration, the Kalinga Day Care Center (KDCC) of the University of the Philippines Center for Women’s and Gender Studies (UPCWGS), in collaboration with the UP Office of Athletics and and Sports Development (OASD), held the Footbulilit – a football clinic for the KDCC kids with the UP Women’s Football Team – on 24 March 2025 at the UP Sunken Garden. The activity aims to introduce kids to sports for physical fitness, mental health and emotional well-being, social skills and teamwork, and development of life skills.

As part of its Women’s Month celebration, the University of the Philippines Center for Women’s and Gender Studies (UPCWGS) organized a community bazaar on 10-14 March 2025 at the UPCWGS front yard.

Participating concessionaires were Handcraftedbyshe, Crafts And Cranks, Magic Hand Enterprise, Malabon Craft and Non-Craft, Nova Sushi Manila, Slowburnmnl, Resonate.Coffee, Carmen’s Best Ice Cream, Mhelda’s Food Product, Marcel Philippe Quezon City, White Cross Children’s Home, Pinangga Ethnic Hand Embroidery, LILAK (Purple Action for Indigenous Women’s Rights), Homenet Multipurpose Cooperative, and Dax Sausage.

Support for the event was also provided by the Quezon City Small Business and Cooperatives Development Promotions Office, the UP Diliman Campus Maintenance Office, and the UP Diliman College of Social Sciences and Philosophy. The UP Varsity Pep Drummers performed during the opening of the bazaar.

To open its Women’s Month celebration, the University of the Philippines Center for Women’s and Gender Studies (UPCWGS) launched the latest issue of its journal, the Review of Women’s Studies Volume XXXIV, Number 1, on 10 March 2025 at the UPCWGS Conference Room. 

The featured works for this issue of the journal are:

Research Papers

Clandestine Casualties: Examining the Right to Abortion Under International Law in the Philippine Context by Marianne Crielle G. Vitug

Microaggression Toward Filipino Women With Mobility Disabilities: From Microstories to Macrostruggles by Christelle Juin R. Ancha and Jan Erron R. Celebrado

Nipping the Stereotypes: Development of a Sexual Health Literacy Program for Teens and Young Adults With Moderate to Severe Levels of Intellectual Disability by Marie Grace A. Gomez

Advancing Women’s Leadership in the Philippine Health Sector: A Policy Review by Lynnell Alexie Ong, Reneepearl Kim Sales, Pura Angela Wee Co, and Katherine Ann Reyes

“Goodness Without the Guilt”: Constructing the Ideal Feminine Through Consumerism That Cares by Maritess D. Cruz

Review

Hyphenate Woman: Pacita Abad Stitching Solidarity—A Review of Pacita Abad’s Retrospective at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art by Jose Santos P. Ardivilla

Creative Works

Sulsi at Iba Pang Tula by Roda Tajon

The Review of Women’s Studies (RWS) is a refereed journal published twice a year by the UPCWGS. The journal serves as a forum where ideas on issues and concerns affecting the lives of women, seen from the analytical perspectives of different disciplines, may be exchanged. Works that critically explore the myriad experiences of Filipino women and problematize gender relations in Philippine society are welcome. The RWS encourages and seeks to publish: (a) research papers that employ feminist methodologies and that adhere to the principles of feminist research, bearing in mind the intersectionality of gender, class, religion, age, and education; (b) reviews of current scholarship (local or foreign); and (c) creative works (poems, short fiction, essays, and artworks) that provide insights into women’s consciousness and give life to their hopes and dreams. The RWS follows the double-blind peer review process.

As part of its activities for the 18-Day Campaign to End Violence Against Women and in observance of International Human Rights Day, the University of the Philippines Center for Women’s and Gender Studies (UPCWGS), in partnership with the Human Rights Violations Victims’ Memorial Commission (HRVVMC), the Survivors’ Hub (Martial Law ’72-’86), and the Center for Women’s Resources (CWR), conducted Tao sa Tao: Mga Totoong Kwento ng Martial Law on 9 December 2024 at the UPCWGS Conference Room. Resource persons were Ma. Cristina P. Bawagan and Nilda G. Fullon of Survivors’ Hub, Patrick I. Claudio of HRVVMC, and Sharmaine Soledad of CWR.

Tao sa Tao is a project by the HRVVMC launched in 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Martial Law. It gathers survivor stories to inform students and the public about human rights violations during 1972-1986 and counter historical distortions through face-to-face storytelling. 

In addition, the event also explored the relationship between conflict and gender-based violence, emphasizing women’s critical roles in addressing this issue and their contributions to women, peace, and security. 

As part of its founding anniversary celebration, the University of the Philippines Center for Women’s and Gender Studies (UPCWGS) launched the latest issue of its journal, the Review of Women’s Studies Volume XXXIII, on 6 December 2024 at the UPCWGS Conference Room. 

The featured works for this issue of the journal are: 

Research Articles 

Navigating Tiwala in Disasters: Rural Women Leaders and Social Constructions of Trust With International Humanitarian Organisations by Kara Danielle Medina 

Gendering Legitimacy: The Case of a Women-Led Community-Based Organization in Barangay Tatalon, Quezon City, Philippines by Ervin F. Grana 

Understanding Motherhood During COVID-19: Experiences of Mother-Teachers in Distance Education by Holden Kenneth G. Alcazaren, Andrew Bonifacio L. Clete, Bianca Camille G. Clete, and Arnielle Mari H. Resuello 

Women’s Midlife as Gendered Development: The Lived Experiences of Selected Filipino Women in Midlife by Amapola L. Baes 

The Paradoxes of Mobile Care Work: The Case of Aging Filipina Australians in a Digital Era by Earvin Charles B. Cabalquinto and Athena Charanne R. Presto 

Creative Works 

Women of Western Visayas by Maria Amihan Tamayo Panes 

The Review of Women’s Studies (RWS) is a refereed journal published by the UPCWGS. The journal serves as a forum where ideas on issues and concerns affecting the lives of women, seen from the analytical perspectives of different disciplines, may be exchanged. It encourages and seeks to publish research that employs feminist methodologies and that adheres to the principles of feminist research, bearing in mind the intersectionality of gender, class, religion, age, and education. 

As part of its activities for the 18-Day Campaign to End Violence Against Women, the University of the Philippines Center for Women’s and Gender Studies (UPCWGS) conducted Unhappily Ever After: A Roundtable Discussion on the Absolute Divorce Act (House Bill 9349) on 2 December 2024 at the UPCWGS Conference Room. 

Discussants were Atty. Leo D. Battad of the UP College of Law Gender Law and Policy Program, Prof. Macrina A. Morados of the UP Institute of Islamic Studies, and Christian Ang of the UP Student Catholic Action. The discussion was facilitated by Dr. Rowena A. Laguilles-Timog of the UPCWGS. 

This event aims to explore the potential advantages and disadvantages of the Divorce Bill, with a focus on its impact on Filipino families, particularly on women and children.

The University of the Philippines Center for Women’s and Gender Studies (UPCWGS) conducted the Zine-Making for Feminist Advocacy: A Workshop with BLTX’s Conchitina Cruz on 20 November 2024 at the UPCWGS Conference Room. This event is the 11th session of the “Site of Convergence: Weaving Tapestries of Knowledge” lecture series.

In this workshop, participants were taught how to use the zine as a medium for feminist advocacy. Participants were also given time to create their own zines and share their works.

The workshop facilitator, Conchitina Cruz, teaches creative writing and literature at UP Diliman. Her books of poetry include “Dark Hours,” “elsewhere held and lingered,” “There is no emergency,” and “Modus.” She received her PhD in English from State University of New York (SUNY) Albany. She co-organizes the small press/DIY expo Better Living Through Xeroxography (BLTX).

Dr. Marie Aubrey J. Villaceran, director of the University of the Philippines Center for Women’s and Gender Studies (UPCWGS); Dr. Carolyn I. Sobritchea, director of the UP Center for Women’s Studies Foundation, Inc. (UPCWSFI); and UPCWGS staff were part of the 691 delegates at the opening of the three-day first ministerial-level International Conference on Women, Peace and Security (ICWPS) on 28 October 2024 at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), Manila.

With the theme, “Forging Collaboration and Convergence for Advancing Women, Peace and Security,” the ICWPS 2024 is to serve as an international stocktaking on the implementation of the women, peace, and security agenda ahead of the 25th anniversary of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325). It aims to contribute to efforts to carve pathways and develop collaborative strategies for overcoming barriers to women’s full and meaningful participation in peacemaking and the mainstreaming of gender in the promotion of peace and security.