Abstract
Legal awareness on the Republic Act No. 11313, or the Safe Spaces Act, among students serves as one of the many foundations for fostering a safer environment inside educational institutions. By asking the students on their level of legal awareness with the Safe Spaces act and their perception in the two other variables, this study established that high level of awareness on the Safe Spaces Act indeed has a significant effect on students’ perception on campus safety and administrative accountability, with a moderate positive correlation between the students’ level of awareness and their perception on campus safety, and a weak positive correlation between the students’ level of awareness and their perception on administrative accountability. However, the strength of this correlation was affected by some factors: Participants who experienced, or know some cases within the university, were less likely to feel safe in the campus premises and trust the administration’s effort on combating gender-based sexual harassment. This shows that, while many agencies and institutions exert efforts on raising the level of legal awareness on Safe Spaces Act, it is also important to consider the individual’s view and psychological context in which a sensitive topic like this is discussed wherever: Students who are already predisposed to issues of gender-based sexual harassment may be at greater risk of feeling unsafe in the university premises and distrust the mandate of the administration.
Presenters
Marvin John PagtalunanStudent, Bachelor of Public Administration, Bulacan State University, Bulacan, Philippines Rafael Baesa
Professor, Department of Public Administration and Govermance, Bulacan State University, Bulacan, Philippines
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Education, Assessment and Policy
KEYWORDS
LEGAL AWARENESS, CAMPUS SAFETY, ADMINISTRATIVE ACCOUNTABILITY, SEXUAL HARASSMENT
