Safe Spaces Act: Catcalling and Street Harassment

Section 3(a) defines catcalling as "unwanted remarks directed towards a person, commonly done in the form of wolf-whistling and misogynistic, transphobic, homophobic, and sexist slurs".

Section 4 sets the general rule: gender-based streets and public spaces sexual harassment is committed "through any unwanted and uninvited sexual actions or remarks against any person regardless of the motive for committing such action or remarks". The victim can be anyone, of any gender.

Section 3(g) lists public spaces: "streets and alleys, public parks, schools, buildings, malls, bars, restaurants, transportation terminals, public markets, spaces used as evacuation centers, government offices, public utility vehicles as well as private vehicles covered by app-based transport network services", and recreational places such as cinemas, theaters and spas.

The Act also has separate chapters on online harassment, the workplace and schools. For harassment at work, see Sexual harassment at work.

Section 11 sorts the acts into three tiers. The penalty goes up with each repeat offense.

Stalking is defined in Section 3(h) as repeated visual or physical closeness, unwanted communication, or both, that causes or will likely cause a person to fear for his or her safety or the safety of others, or to suffer emotional distress.

Section 30 allows local government units to pass ordinances with heavier penalties. Local ordinances were not read for this page.

Section 15 applies "the penalty next higher in degree" when:

• the act happens in a public utility vehicle or app-based ride (jeepney, taxi, tricycle and the like), the offender is the driver and the victim is a passenger;
• the victim is a minor, a senior citizen, a person with disability, or a breastfeeding mother nursing her child;
• the victim has a diagnosed mental problem that tends to impair consent;
• the offender is a member of the uniformed services, such as the PNP or the AFP, and was in uniform; or
• the act happens in a government office offering frontline services and the offender is a government employee.

The Act and its rules do not explain how the higher penalty is computed for the tiers made of a fine plus community service, so this page does not compute it.

Section 31 says acts that are legitimate expressions of indigenous culture and tradition, and breastfeeding in public, are not penalized. If the offender is a minor, Section 7 says the Department of Social Welfare and Development takes disciplinary measures under the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act (RA 9344).

The Act names these offices:

• Police and MMDA. Section 10 gives the Metro Manila Development Authority, the local units of the PNP and the PNP Women and Children's Protection Desk the authority to apprehend offenders. Section 32 says the women and children's desks in all police stations "shall act on and attend to all complaints covered under this Act".
• Anti-Sexual Harassment Enforcers. Under Section 10, deputized enforcers may receive complaints on the street and apprehend an offender caught in the act. The offender is brought to the nearest PNP station to face charges.
• Barangay and city halls. The DILG is tasked to set up an Anti-Sexual Harassment Desk in all barangay and city halls (Section 10). The implementing rules say VAW Desks may also serve as these desks (Section 9(i)).
• Hotlines and business establishments. Local government units must create an anti-sexual harassment hotline (Section 8), and restaurants, bars, cinemas and other places of recreation must post warning signs with the hotline number and designate an anti-sexual harassment officer to receive complaints (Section 5). The Act does not give a national number.

During the case, the court may order the offender to stay away from the victim, or from the victim's home, school, workplace or other places the victim often goes, even before a final decision (Section 27).

Section 36 sets these deadlines: one year for acts under Section 11(a), three years for Section 11(b), and ten years for Section 11(c). Gender-based online sexual harassment, a separate offense, is punished under Section 14 of the Act.

In a 2023 disbarment case, In re: Atty. Lorenzo G. Gadon's Viral Video Against Raissa Robles, the Court said that a violation of RA 11313 "pertains to the acts of the perpetrator, not to the reaction of the recipient". It was an administrative case about a lawyer's conduct online; the Court did not rule on criminal liability. No Supreme Court criminal conviction under Section 11 was found for this page.

These are made-up examples to show how the rules work. They are not advice for any real case.

Joy walks to the jeepney stop. A man whistles at her and keeps asking for her number after she says no. These acts are listed in Section 11(a) ("wolf-whistling", "relentless requests for one's personal details"). For a first offense the Act sets a ₱1,000 fine and 12 hours of community service. If he also grabs her arm, the act moves to Section 11(c), which covers touching.

Mae rides a taxi, and the driver makes sexual comments about her body during the trip. Because the offender is the driver and she is the passenger, Section 15(a) applies the penalty next higher in degree.

The Act names the police women and children's desks and the barangay desks as places that receive complaints, and it does not require a lawyer for a complaint. Talk to a lawyer if you were touched or followed, if the harassment keeps happening, if you want a court order to keep the person away, or if you want to claim damages. If the offender is a current or former partner, see also How to file a VAWC case. For insults that are not sexual in nature, see Unjust vexation.

If you cannot afford a lawyer, see Free legal help in the Philippines.