NO MEANS NO: Akbayan Rep. Villarin promotes Safe Spaces for Valentine's Day

Akbayan Party-list Representative Tom Villarin started the week with a friendly reminder that cat-calling is a form of street harassment and advocated for the passage of House Bill 7581 or the Safe Streets and Public Spaces Act.

In the form of an online Valentine's Day card, Villarin identified the behavior that the bill is hoping to discourage and penalize. For example: shouting "Hi, byutipul" trying to go about his or her day is heckling and the sentiment does not come across as a compliment.

"Alam niyang maganda siya. 'Wag mo nang i-remind. Manyak ka lang talaga, eh," the card Villarin shared read.

Another card explained that "Hoy, bakla!" is acceptable if you see your gay friend, but is definitely wrong if you're using it to mean "weak" or "unmanly."

The post is accompanied by the hashtags #SafeSpaces and #ItStartsWithUs.

The Safe Streets and Public Spaces Act seeks to protect everyone, regardless of sex and gender, from catcalling, wolf-whistling, groping, leering, persistent request for contact details and other acts that violates a persons’ personal space.

Senator Risa Hontiveros is also advocating for Senate Bill 1326, also known as the Safe Streets and Public Spaces Act of 2017, which aims to penalize the enumerated offenses to empower victims of sexual harassment. — LA, GMA News