The Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) highlighted Sustainable Development Goals 4 and 5 as key measures for advancing gender equality during the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women on 20 April.

Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking executive director Hannah Manalili said education remains crucial to women’s empowerment, stressing the need to raise awareness among young women on what constitutes violence, abuse, and exploitation.

“To counter that as a preventive measure, is education. Educate them to know what constitutes a crime against them. Sometimes in our engagement with survivors, the conclusion or finding is that they don't know that they are victims of abuse,” Manalili said in an interview with the DAILY TRIBUNE.

Meanwhile, Department of Foreign Affairs Director Ricarte Abejuela III said SDG 5 on gender equality is closely linked to SDG 4 on quality education, noting that both goals promote inclusive learning and lifelong opportunities.

Manalili added that educating young women and children on crimes can empower more victims to speak up.

“It’s another thing to recognize that there’s a remedy,” she said.

She also urged the Department of Education to strengthen school-based programs and integrate lessons on gender equality, consent, and abuse prevention into the curriculum.

“Train the response mechanism and referral mechanism—what to do in cases that there’s a report or they encounter something like that,” Manalili added.

PCW official Ma. Sophia De Castro also said access to quality education opens economic opportunities for women, helping reduce dependency and enabling them to leave unsafe situations.

Overall, delegates underscored that education and gender equality must be addressed simultaneously, as both are essential in establishing a safer and inclusive society where women and young girls in the country are empowered, within or across the border.