22 September 2023, Naga City, a webinar on cultivating safe spaces was livestreamed via Zoom and in the Ateneo de Naga University Office of Student Affairs (ADNU OSA) Youtube account.
This webinar, as part of OSA’s Student Rights and Responsibility Campaign, aimed at educating the students about the importance of safe spaces in the school environment, providing practical tips and measures in establishing/maintaining sexual harassment-free school of environment, and informing the participants on the structure, services, and steps in addressing sexual harassment incidents in the school setting. The Committee on Decorum and Investigation (CODI) of ADNU co-organized the event with OSA.
More than 700 live viewers from Zoom and Youtube, composed of ADNU students and employees, attended the webinar. In his opening remarks, Fr. Robert Exequiel N. Rivera, S.J., the University President, underscored how relevant and timely the webinar is in the pursuit of growth and wisdom as part of the Ateneo community’s commitment to make the school a safe space for all — free from tolerance of abuse, discrimination, and violence against any gender.
The highlight of the webinar was the talk of Dr. Gilda Gayle R. Abonal-Gomez, Councilor of the Naga City Sangguniang Panlungsod and ADNU Faculty of the Psychology Department. She shed light on the meaning of safe space, and relates it in the aspect of psychology, especially as part of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. She presented salient provisions of laws, and ordinance that center on every citizen’s right to equality, security, and safety, such as Anti-Sexual Harassment Act, Bawal Bastos Law, Department of Education Order on Child Protection Policy, and Safe Spaces Ordinance in Naga City. She stressed the importance of educating the people on issues regarding safe spaces since some people are not aware that they are already being victimized and abused, and so that proper interventions and precautionary measures can be done and facilitated. She proceeded by sharing ways and measures on how safe spaces can be cultivated in the school setting. She ended her discussion by saying that “the best gift you can give is to be someone’s safe space.”
After the talk, the host Beatriz Mae Villanueva, a Business Management Honors Program student and officer of Ateneo Hosting Association (AHA), facilitated the open forum.
Invited resource sharer Rodolfo “Sonny” SB. Virtus, Director of Student Affairs and the Chairperson of the Committee on Decorum and Investigation (CODI), shared the school’s policy, guidelines and procedures in handling sexual harassment. He emphasized that the university is committed to protecting students’ general well-being and to ensuring a safe and secure environment. He also presented the step-by-step disciplinary procedures for complaints of sexual harassment against an employee and student. Further, reactor Zharina Bianca Asuncion, SSG President of ADNU, shared her reflections on the webinar. She pointed out that having a dialogue and promoting open conversations are a must in considering everyone’s perspective and establishing a community which prioritizes the welfare of the people.
After the sharing, some plausible case scenarios about safe spaces were presented to solicit the speaker and sharer’s advice on how to deal with these situations. After this, participants’ questions were addressed. The video of the College Guidance Center was also played to guide the students on how to avail of their services, in relation to this webinar.
This webinar was part of the OSA’s continuing efforts to foster a safe and inclusive environment for the students, in line with the university’s commitment to uphold their rights, responsibilities, and overall well-being. OSA will sustain this advocacy through activities and informative materials. In fact, there is an upcoming activity titled “Safe and Inclusive ADNU: A Seminar-Workshop on Cultivating Safe Spaces for Student Organizations”, on October 14, 2023, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Alingal Multipurpose Hall.
Students can still view this webinar thru this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3EsuNLkafg
Written by Catherine Llaban and Janice Tresvalles
