The Gender and Development Section of the Philippine Embassy in Ottawa organized a Women’s Legal Education Workshop on 09 December 2020 to promote the empowerment of women as part of the Embassy’s observance of the 18-Day Campaign to End Violence against Women covering the period from 25 November to 12 December 2020.

Recognizing that Filipino women working overseas may experience incidents of violence, Ambassador Rodolfo D. Robles reiterated in his opening remarks that the responsibility of Philippine Foreign Service Posts in Canada is to assist Filipinos in distress, including female overseas Filipinos who may be victims of violence and exploitation, among others.

The program, conducted by Ms. Elsy David of the Women’s Initiative for Safer Environments (WISE Ottawa), provided personnel from the Philippine Embassy in Ottawa, the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto, and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Toronto with an overview of the Ontario legal framework and environment affecting women in the areas of work/labor, immigration, family, and related issues.