#FEATURE | Bringing Solace to survivors: ‘It’s about power’
by Clarenne Gayapa, Pauleen Aquino, and Mara Remonte
Content warning: This article contains mentions of gender-based discrimination, sexual harassment, and suicide.
“There’s something about sexual violence that’s even more hard-hitting, because it’s not about sex — it’s about power. It’s about someone literally believing that they can own you and [that] they can have power over you.”
These were the words of Julia Martinez from Batch 2023, who gradually realized in the years they spent as a Philippine Science High School–Main Campus (PSHS–MC) student that something within the school’s system had to change.
And so, she, alongside Iya Ilagan, took the first stride in making their mark on the PSHS–MC community last April 18.
On that day, Martinez and Ilagan led their core team in unveiling an organization geared towards combating gender-based discrimination and sexual harassment — the school’s very own student-led Women Empowerment and Sexual Harassment Intervention Committee: Solace.
Solace aims to cultivate a community that provides comfort for survivors of sexual harassment and, in the long run, encourages them to speak up and make their stories heard. The committee seeks to create safe spaces for these discussions by collaborating with fellow advocates, both within the PSHS–MC community and beyond.
Setting the foundation
Although Solace was launched only this year, Martinez explained, the issues that prompted the organization’s establishment date back to her time as a second-year high school student, whose worldview was shaken by all that happened around her.
“The suicide [incident back in 2018], that was the first thing. And then, there was #BOTtledUp. Those two events really made me — it was really devastating,” they reflected. “From that, I realized that we needed something to happen.”
They also attributed the first sparks of Solace to working with Kandili, PSHS–MC’s Student Mental Health Committee, during their fourth year in high school. “The [administration] needs better mental healthcare [and] better policies on sexual harassment. When I joined Kandili, I realized that; [that’s when] the idea of Solace came in.”
As a member of Kandili, Martinez also got to know Ilagan, with whom she shared her initial plans on establishing Solace. Together, they began conceptualizing and preparing for how the organization would come to be throughout the rest of that school year.
Once the summer of 2021 came around, Martinez and Ilagan started to turn their ideas into a reality. As the committee’s founders, they drafted and proposed a concept paper detailing their plans for Solace to the Student Council (SC).
Next, the pair sought out an adviser whose advocacies aligned with their visions for Solace. They were directed to Ma’am Darlene Gustilo from the Mathematics Unit, who accepted their request to supervise the organization after being presented their proposal.
“After that, we started finding core members through the SC, like from the [Big Brother and Sister Circle, or BBSC]. We found Raya, Mika, Maria, Bianca, Sam, [and] Logan — we found our core members through group chats where BBSCs asked who were interested,” Martinez recounted.
Each new member of the initial core group was tasked to spearhead planning for one of Solace’s six committees that summer: Creatives, Long-Term Projects, Referrals, Research and Development, Short-Term Projects, and Social Media.
Later on, they were joined by Secretariat Head Bea Panopio and Vice Executive Head Andy Ganancial, who were recruited through Solace’s member applications last June. With the core group complete, they were able to kick-start preparations for the committee’s first cycle this incoming school year, S.Y. 2022–2023.
Community and care
Bonded by their shared passion for promoting the committee’s advocacies, Solace’s core group has continued working on the committee since this summer to make a tangible impact on the PSHS–MC community.
Joining Martinez in this endeavor as one of the organization’s core members is Referrals Head Raya Cadano from Batch 2024.
On the kind of impact Solace wishes to make as its first cycle begins, Cadano said: “First, we want to be a home, a safe space. When encountering gender discrimination and sexual harassment, we can be this safe space [where] you can come to take comfort and express your grief.”
She resumed, “And second, [it’s what] we do through engagement, through all these awareness [information] campaigns — to attack these issues and to empower. It’s the empowerment side. That’s it, empowerment and a safe space.”
Gaining traction
As Solace’s Long-Term Projects Head, Maria Manauis from Batch 2025 detailed how the organization aims to make an impact through hosting activities for all sectors of the PSHS–MC community: students, parents, and teachers alike.
But as with any movement involving a large community, it is vital to gauge its perception of the issues Solace aims to address. With this, Manauis explained that Solace will account for these sectors’ varying perspectives on their advocacies as they set their plans into motion.
She disclosed that for these projects, the committee will be open to collaborating with other PSHS–MC organizations, such as Kandili, and external organizations like The Sanctuary Project.
Moving forward, she also revealed that Solace plans to host a Discord server for the PSHS–MC community: the Safe Space Hub. It will feature different channels for members to discuss their experiences and advocacies, while also being a venue for the committee’s potential online projects, such as game and movie nights, a book club, support group sessions, and the like.
With the return of in-person classes in the upcoming school year, Manauis conveyed that Solace intends to hold various in-person activities.
In line with this, she relayed Short-Term Projects Head Mika Allauigan’s plans. “Our priority [project] for [face-to-face classes] is a workshop [on] proper sex [education] for everyone,” stated Allauigan.
She expounded, “The other [projects] naman focus on creating a comfortable and safe environment within the campus, [educating] the community . . . on revolutionary historical figures through more fun and interactive means, and [raising] awareness and funds for the needs of women in our campus.”
Building safe spaces
Beyond hosting activities for the community, Solace aims to work hand-in-hand with the PSHS–MC administration to create concrete systems and policies for addressing sexual harassment and gender-based discrimination within the school.
Tasked with leading the formation of the referral system this first cycle, Cadano explained that the organization plans to collaborate with the PSHS–MC Student Discipline Office (SDO) and the Guidance and Counseling Unit (GCU) to create a platform for both survivors and bystanders to report and/or emotionally process incidents of sexual harassment.
Cadano emphasized the importance of developing a sense of companionship with survivors through the referral system, as going through the entire process of reporting a case alone may be a traumatic experience.
“In these cases, it’s seen how there needs to be more survivor-centered processes [because] there’s so much hesitation and taboo when it comes to sexual harassment. . . . So that’s part of the referral system, to be able to make processes that are more transparent and more trauma-sensitive — survivor-centered,” she elaborated.
Each survivor will be assigned a referrer to assist them with reporting their case. Referrers may also direct them to psychosocial support or legal services outside the school through Solace’s network of external organizations.
Referrers will be screened and required to take a confidentiality pledge to safeguard survivors’ confidentiality and uphold the referral system’s integrity.
Cadano acknowledged the emotional toll that dealing with sexual harassment cases may entail for referrers. “I also had [so many] doubts when I applied for Referral Head that tortured me for the longest time like, ‘Are you really going to be able to do this?’ [or] ‘Am I qualified to handle something as heavy as this?’”
But in the end, she realized: “ . . . That vision of a safe space is the emotional resilience I need to keep on working on the system. . . . Even within ourselves and the committee, we are a safe space, so if it becomes emotionally taxing, if it gets too heavy, we’re going to be a team.”
Starting the conversation
Another part of Solace’s goals is to initiate discourse on its advocacies and raise awareness among the PSHS–MC community. But first, the organization sought to assess the community’s current state of awareness.
Manauis remarked on the students’ views, for instance, on sexual harassment. “On Pisay Twitter, a lot of students talked about these issues. Especially when the [sexual harassment] issue [at] PSHS–IRC [Ilocos Region Campus] was trending, a lot of students spoke up.”
Despite this, Manauis stressed that student awareness isn’t enough; bystander awareness must be evident among parents, teachers, and the administration as well.
She acknowledged that the discussion on Solace’s advocacies may seem intimidating for bystanders and that they shouldn’t be antagonized for not knowing about these. “When they ask, we answer them sincerely and . . . in the most genuine way possible.”
Cadano linked this point to the committee’s information campaigns, saying that they’ll ensure that any information Solace releases on sexual harassment is sincere and well-researched.
However, in particular, Solace aims to start these discussions to reveal the truth amidst the harmful stereotypes revolving around sexual harassment and gender-based discrimination.
One stereotype the organization seeks to break is on how many view women as the sole victims of sexual harassment. “ . . . Pisay is aware of previous issues that have proved this wrong — na how LGBT nga is also a [sector] that is very vulnerable to this, and how everyone is vulnerable to sexual harassment,” Cadano commented.
“If there [are] lots of misconceptions about it, then let’s bring it up; let’s start. ‘What is sexual harassment? What is consent?’ That’s what we want to do, making sure that it’s understandable,” Martinez said. “From there, we can build it up into more complex things.”
They brought up the importance of true-to-life storytelling in discussions on sexual harassment as well. “People won’t feel like they need to know about sexual harassment if they don’t see that it’s happening. We need to remind [them] that [these scenarios] can happen. It’s not just in our community; it’s in the Philippines, and it’s a global issue.”
‘Recognizing all humanity of people’
“No matter what gender you are, we care about your experience; we care about your story regardless.”
This was how Cadano explained that Solace’s approach, driven by empathy, reflects how they wish to convey the essence of feminism in promoting their advocacies. “Feminism is recognizing [all humanity] of people — making systems and making a world that recognizes [the] full humanity of people regardless of their gender.”
It’s this understanding of feminism that is present in all aspects of Solace’s projects, too.
On the policy-making side, Martinez also cited the concept of intersectionality: taking one’s experiences into the context of everything else that’s happening in their lives.
“For example, if I’m in . . . the LGBTQ community, or if I’m in the [upper middle] class, it’s considering all these things, and it’s not just ‘You’re a woman and you have these issues.’ It means that your issues are further nuanced because of all the other things happening around you,” she said.
But it’s not always simply a matter of intersectionality. Manauis remarked that survivors also have experiences that cannot easily be seen or observed, and that it’s important to realize these as well by taking their input in every step of the way.
From the online information campaigns to the policy-making processes and all their other projects in between, Cadano believes that Solace will strive to consider all the intersectional factors involved.
Be that safe space for others
Solace is presented as a refuge for survivors of sexual harassment and gender-based discrimination who seek comfort from those who truly understand what they’ve been through. It is, in essence, a source of solace.
Yet, its underlying purpose is to empower the PSHS–MC community to take initiative in creating safe spaces for others as well.
“In the long run, empowerment really means that you empower these people to become that safe space for others, to take action for themselves, and not to rely on us . . . not just to know that we exist, not just to engage with our projects, but to feel that in themselves that they need to do something,” Martinez expounded.
And for Solace, it doesn’t end at women empowerment either. “Ultimately, our goal is to inspire members of the Pisay community to also create safe spaces — not just for women, but for everyone: for the queer community, for men [too],” added Manauis.
Reclaiming that power
All in all, Solace seeks to restore the power that its community deserves — power that may have once been taken away from them, may it be when they felt like they’ve lost control over themselves, or when others have tried to force situations out of their hands.
In Martinez’s words, “As Solace, we’re giving that power to the people who were not heard, who were not seen, who were not recognized because they had to bury their stories, [because] they had to deal with it on their own, because sexual harassment is so taboo, because demeaning women and saying sexist comments is so normalized and so tolerated.”
And once they’re ready, Solace can accompany them in building a world that recognizes and defends others’ power, too.
“There will always be people like you, in a way that there will always be people who stand by you, who will fight for the things that you care about. There will always be a place where you belong,” Martinez concluded.
