United Nations Philippines, in collaboration with the Philippine Commission on Women and SM Supermalls, launched on Friday at SM North EDSA an exhibit promoting the end of violence against women (VAW) as part of the celebration of Women’s Month this March.

According to Dr. Leila Saiji Joudane, UN Population Fund country representative and chair of the gender theme group, “Walk in Her Shoes” is an audio-visual exhibit that tells stories of Filipino women and girls who were survivors of violence and discrimination in different spaces.

“The theme of this campaign is Walk in her Shoes. Why did we choose this title? Because we have here five stories that women are telling us, women who were survivors of gender-based violence,” she told Daily Tribune.

She said the exhibit tells different stories—from young adolescent girls who were sexually harassed online, women who were displaced during humanitarian crises, women employees in the workplace who faced discrimination and violence, as well as stories of migrants and househelp.

“These are very few examples of what survivors are facing. We have many examples in every space — at home, in the public space, at work, when we are moving from one place to another. So everywhere, women and girls, including the LGBTQI population, are facing discrimination and violence,” she said.

Meanwhile, UN Philippines resident coordinator Gustavo Gonzales said violence against women is a problem that is present everywhere and that it affects not only the dignity of women and girls but also their personal development.

“This is a serious problem that we have in many societies. In the case of the Philippines, around 18 percent of women and girls between 15 and 49 years old are affected by some types of violence. It could be physical violence, psychological, emotional, or sexual,” he said.

In 2023, the Philippines progressed after ranking 16th out of 146 countries in the Global Gender Gap Index Report of the World Economic Forum. It ranked 19th the previous year.

“The Philippines has achieved 79.1 percent gender parity and ranks 16th globally. Despite an improvement of three positions and 0.88 percentage points since last year, this is only a partial recovery towards its 2018 parity level (79.9 percent),” the WEF report said.

The gender equality ranking surveils countries’ gender gaps across economic opportunities, education, health, and political leadership.