Gabriela partylist calls on gov’t to take down lewd groups on Facebook

The Gabriela Women’s Party (GWP) on Wednesday urged netizens and concerned government agencies to take action against certain groups on Facebook and other social media sites that are actively promoting obscene photos of women and children under the guise of religious organizations.

The GWP said these secret groups often bear names with religious overtones such as “Pastor Hokage Bible Study,” with members using terms such as “Amen” to express their affirmation over the illicit posts.

The women’s group said the public should be wary of the Facebook page “Pa-Bible Study ni Pastor Hokage,” which used to post sexy photos of women and children.

In a statement on Wednesday, the militant women’s group said it has received many complaints on these Facebook groups where netizens hide behind a supposed Bible study group to post sexy images of women and children that are unacceptable and lewd.

“We urge netizens to help us take down these closed groups and pages by reporting them for sexually explicit content. Particular individuals who have been maligned or harassed by these pages/groups can also send us a complaint through our inbox,” the statement read.

“We urge concerned government agencies such as the Department of Justice and the National Bureau of Investigation to take action,” the GWP continued.

On its part, Gabriela would be pushing for legislation that will strengthen mechanisms to prevent electronic violence against women (EVAW) and online sexual harassment.

The women’s rights group would also push for policies that will alleviate poverty and women’s vulnerabilities to abuse.

“GWP is supporting the paralegal and counselling training to be conducted by Gabriela Network of Professionals (G-NET) on July 8. The activity aims to equip women’s rights advocates (valuable) information on how to respond to complaints of abuse and violence. This is in line with Gabriela’s #LabananAngAbuso campaign,” the statement read. Rogelio Nato Jr. and Celine Amilhamja, INQUIRER.net trainees / JPV