Abstract:
This study is an assessment of the implementation of R.A. 7877, otherwise
known as the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995, in the Municipal Government of
Dasmarinas, Cavite in the light of the concept of gender fairness. The main aim of this
study is to determine whether implementation of the Act is effective in the sense that
sexual harassment incidents are prevented and resolved through it. Assessment was
done in the context of gender fairness, that is, whether implementation reflects the
prevalence of the concept among the employees of the Municipal Government of
Dasmarinas, Cavite. Thus the research has two interrelated dimensions, effectiveness of
the Act’s implementation and the prevalence of gender fairness. Research findings have led to the conclusion that the Act is implemented not
through formal mechanisms or institutions, but through the prevalence of gender fairness
itself among the employees of the Municipal Government. It was previously thought that
formal implementation of the Act’s provisions will bring about more gender fairness in the
working environment of the Municipal Government. However, it was found out that
gender fairness existing among the employees, together with other social conditions and
constraints, actually facilitates the informal implementation of the Act. Nevertheless, the
principal indicators of effective implementation, particularly prevention and resolution of
actual sexual harassment incidents, were still identified, and this rendered the
researcher able to prove his hypothesis that the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995 is
effectively implemented in the Municipal Government of Dasmarinas, Cavite.