The Supreme Court (SC) has approved on Tuesday the guidelines against the use of sexist language in the judiciary, especially in courtrooms.
During its en banc deliberation, the SC approved “The Guidelines on the Use of Gender-Fair Language in the Judiciary and Gender- Fair Courtroom Etiquette,” which encourages the use of nonsexist language in official documents, communications, and issuances in the judiciary.
The SC’s Committee on Gender Responsiveness in the Judiciary headed by Associate Justice Amy Lazaro-Javier recommended the approval of the guidelines intended “to expand, reinforce, supplement and contextualize gender-fair language for a more nuanced adaptation and application.”
It noted that the drafting of the guidelines was an offshoot of the enactment of Republic Act No. 11313, or the Safe Spaces Act, which prohibits and penalizes several forms of gender-based sexual harassment.
It cited for example the use of “person” instead of “man” or “humanity” instead of “mankind.”
It discouraged the use of masculine terms for professions or occupations: “chairperson” instead of “chairman” or “business owners” instead of “businessmen.”
“Sexist language ‘devalues members of one sex, almost invariably women, and thus fosters gender inequality.’ Indeed, it has been pointed out that ‘[t]he use of gendered generics can communicate subtle sexism, distract, and create ambiguity,” the SC said in the guidelines.
“Our courts are courts of evidence, and its power to take judicial notice of matters is limited.
Therefore, courts cannot and should not perpetuate gender stereotypes, which rest on unfounded generalizations regarding the characteristics and roles of binary and non-binary genders, but indisputably influence the perspectives of the judges and litigants alike,” it added.
The SC stressed that the “The Safe Spaces Act” defined gender as “a set of socially ascribed characteristics, norms, roles, attitudes, values and expectations identifying the social behavior of men and women, and the relations between them.”
“The Guidelines was a product of the CGRJ’s efforts to combat sexist language in the Judiciary, by including sensitivity towards persons with diverse sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC),” the SC said.
Last September 24, 2021, the Supreme Court, through Memorandum Order No. 90- 2021, reiterated its directive in a 2006 Administrative Circular advocating the use of gender-fair language in the Judiciary.