The UPLB Philosophy Division together with Time’s Up Ateneo (TUA) and Women Doing Philosophy (WDP) hosted Towards Safer Spaces: Sharing Experiences of Sexual Violence in Philosophy last 21 November 2022 via Zoom. With 104 participants, the 3-hour webinar featured four speakers: Danna Aduna from TUA, Dr. Marella Ada Bolanos for WDP, and Krissah Marga Taganas and Jethro Daryll Pugal for the Philosophy Division. 

Ms. Aduna started by sharing how victim survivors go through the slow bureaucracies of institutions and how debilitating these processes are. She also pointed out how usually, the clamor for change and justice comes from the peripheries, with the victim survivors and their allies calling for accountability and recognition. Dr. Bolanos shared how the Gender Committee of the WDP has addressed gaps in Philosophy in its treatment of gender justice by sharing the various workshops and initiatives the committee has initiated within the organization. She has also shared about the importance of publishing an all women philosopher written journal issue for Kritike with a banner title of “Women and Philosophy: An Initial Move Towards a More Inclusive Practice of Philosophy in the Philippine Context”. Lastly, Ms. Taganas and Mr. Pugal shared their experiences of being part of an ethics committee specifically tackling sexual violence in Philosophy, and how issues of ageism, legalism, and the like had posed challenges for attaining accountability and transparency.

With this event, it is hoped that the discussions on gender justice outside a hushed environment continues. Traditional whisper networks as latent countermeasures for sexual violence is no longer enough. By starting and continuing this conversation, commitment to safer spaces for everyone is cemented. Sometimes, it is no longer enough to rock the boat. In some cases, new ones need to be built, because good intentions alone cannot always deliver justice.