Batangas university acts on alleged harassment of transwoman student

LUCENA CITY —The Batangas State University (BatStateU) has initiated steps to address the alleged harassment of a first-year transgender woman student at its Lipa Campus, a day after the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) condemned the incident.

“The campus administration immediately initiated appropriate steps to understand the circumstances and address the concerns raised,” the BatStateU Office of the Chancellor said in a statement issued Saturday.

The statement was posted on Facebook by The Apex, the university’s official student publication.

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According to The Apex, citing a public Facebook post by the student, the head of the campus security personnel on Sept. 8 ordered her, while she was wearing a physical education uniform, to remove her earrings and bra in front of other people over an alleged violation of the university’s dress code policy.

The incident reportedly occurred in the campus lobby, where several students and security personnel were present.

The security official reportedly showed the student the university handbook and cited provisions of the dress code specifically applicable to male students, telling her that she was being treated under the male dress-code category.

The student refused to remove her bra and later described the incident as an “infringement on her dignity and privacy as a transgender woman.”

“My undergarment is part of my dignity, my comfort, and respect for my identity as a transgender woman. Forcing me to remove it without a proper explanation and causing public embarrassment is not only disrespectful but also violates my human rights and right to privacy,” the student said, according to The Apex report.

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She said she decided to make the incident public because she was struggling to process what happened and wanted others to be aware of it.

“No student should ever be subjected to such degrading, humiliating, and potentially traumatizing treatment in the name of enforcing a school policy,” the NUSP said.

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“Dress codes and institutional rules must never be used as a justification for violating a student’s dignity, bodily autonomy, and fundamental rights,” it added.

The NUSP also said LGBTQIA+ people have long been subjected to social expectations dictating how they should dress, speak, look and behave based on restrictive notions of masculinity and femininity.

“Schools should not reproduce these oppressive standards. They must challenge them,” the student group said.

In its statement, BatStateU said it recognized the distress experienced by the student and the wider concern raised within the university community and the public.

The university said the student had been referred to and assisted by the Office of Guidance Counseling, where she received appropriate psychosocial support.

Her parents were also contacted, while the dean of the College of Teacher Education communicated directly with her.

“The circumstances surrounding the matter, including the manner in which the dress-code policy was interpreted and implemented, are being reviewed through these processes. The review is guided by fairness, objectivity, confidentiality, and due process, with respect for the rights and dignity of every person involved,” the university said.

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BatStateU said its Lipa Campus remains committed to providing a safe, respectful, inclusive and conducive learning environment where institutional standards are upheld professionally and every member of the university community is treated with dignity, fairness and respect. /gsg