SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
Second Regular Session 
) 
P4GJ:15 
SENllS40 
S_.N __ 
O_. _______________________ 
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.. 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
AN ACT 
AUTHORIZING GRANTS TO PROMOTE MEDIA LITERACY AND YOUTH 
EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMS, TO AUTHORIZE RESEARCH ON THE ROLE 
AND IMP ACT OF DEPICTIONS OF GIRLS AND WOMEN IN THE MEDIA, 
TO PROVIDE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A NATIONAL TASK FORCE ON 
GIRLS AND WOMEN IN THE MEDIA 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
In the 2010 survey conducted by Girl Scouts of the USA's (GSUSA) Research 
Institute, Girls and Body Image, found that 89% of girls say the fashion industry places a 
lot of pressure on teenage girls to be thin. Further, only 46% think that the fashion 
industry does a good job of representing people of all races and ethnicities. 
On the other hand, the American Psychological Association's (APA) Report on 
the Sexualization of Girls (2007) found that three of the most common mental health 
problems among girls, i. e., eating disorders, depression or depressed mood, and low self-
esteem, are linked to the sexualization of girls and women in media. 1 
Hence, this bill seeks to improve media literacy for youth and to encourage the 
promotion of healthier media messages about girls and women. The bill takes a three-
pronged approach to promote healthy media messages about girls and women. First, the 
bill creates a competitive grant program to encourage and support media literacy 
programs and youth empowerment groups. The bill also facilitates research on how 
depictions of women and girls in the media affect youth. Finally, it establishes a National 
Taskforce on Women and Girls in the Media, which will develop voluntary standards that 
I This bill was originally filed in the U.S. House of Representatives by Representatives Baldwin, 
Capito, Schultz, Capps, and Sanchez during the III II> CongJ'ess, 2"d Session. 


promote healthy, balanced, and positive images of girls and women in the media for the 
benefit of all youth.
2 
2 http://tammybaldwin.holise.gov/P_R_Articjs,.asQx?l'!ewslD=J 625. 
2 


SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
Se(:ond Regular Session 
) 
SENAlli 
S. No. 
i!b40 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
1 
AN ACT 
2 
AUTHORIZING GRANTS TO PROMOTE MEDIA LITERACY AND YOUTH 
3 
EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMS, TO AUTHORIZE RESEARCH ON THE ROLE 
4 
AND IMP ACT OF DEPICTIONS OF GIRLS AND WOMEN IN THE MEDIA, 
s 
TO PROVIDE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF ANA TIONAL TASK FORCE ON 
6 
GIRLS AND WOMEN IN THE MEDIA 
7 
SECTION 1. Short Title. ~ This Act shall be known as the "Healthy Media for 
8 
Youth Act". 
9 
SECTION 2. Definition of Terms. ~ For purposes of this Act, 
10 
(I) "Media" includes television programs, motion pictures, video games, music 
11 
and music videos, the Internet, social media, digital video recorders, cell 
12 
phones, 
magazines, 
newspapers, 
advertisements, 
and 
other emerging 
13 
technologies designed for communication, entertainment, education, or 
14 
information. 
15 
(2) "Secretary" refers to the Secretary of the Department of Health. 
16 
(3) "Sexualization" refers to a circumstance when: 
17 
(A)a person's value comes only lrom his or her sexual appeal or behavior, 
18 
to the exclusion of othcr characteristics; 
19 
(B) a person is held to a standard that equates physical attractiveness 
20 
(narrowly defined) and personal value with appearing, acting, and being 
21 
sexy; 


1 
(C)a person is sexually objectified, that is, made into a thing for others' 
2 
sexual use, rather than seen as a person with the capacity for 
3 
independent action and decisionmaking; or 
4 
(D) sexuality is inappropriately imposed upon a person. 
5 
(4) "Task Force" refers to the National Task Force on Girls and Women in the 
6 
Media convened under Section 5. 
7 
SECTION 3. Grants to Promote Media Literacy and Youth Empowerment 
8 
Programs . -The Secretary shall award grants to nonprofit organizations to provide for the 
9 
establishment, operation, coordination, and evaluation of programs to increase the media 
10 
literacy of girls and boys, including by: 
11 
(A) 
educating youth on how to apply their critical thinking skills when 
12 
consuming media images and messages; 
13 
(B) promoting healthy, balanced, and positive media depictions of girls and women 
14 
among youth; and 
15 
(C)countering the perpetuation and damaging effects of narrow, restrictive gender 
16 
roles, stereotypes, and expectations, ineluding the sexualization of female 
17 
children, adolescents, and adults. 
18 
The programs may include: 
19 
(A) 
education on analytical skills that promote autonomy and critical 
20 
understanding of how girls and women are depicted in the media; 
21 
(B)age-appropriate education about negative effects of the sexualization of female 
22 
children, adolescents, and adults; 
23 
(C) education about how traditional, restrictive gender roles can be perpetuated 
24 
through media; 
2 


1 
(D) 
education about how depictions of girls and women in the media can 
2 
negatively affect youths' body image, their choice of role models, relationships 
3 
among girls, and relationships and expectations between girls and boys; 
4 
(E) education on how to use media to positively influence others and to affect 
5 
healthier cultural norms and practices; 
6 
(F) education of parents, educators, and other adults on how depictions of girls and 
7 
women in the media impact youth; or 
8 
(G) 
support for public or private partnerships that encourage businesses, 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
advertisers, the entertainment industry, and other media content providers to 
promote media content that: 
(i) encourages healthy body images; 
(ii) develops positive and active female role models; and 
(iii) 
pOlirays equal and healthy relationships between female and male 
14 
characters. 
15 
The Secretary shall require each grant recipient under this subsection to submit to 
16 
the Secretary a report for each grant period that describes how grant funds were used; and 
17 
evaluates the effectiveness of the program funded through the grant. 
18 
The Secretary shall also award grants to nonprofit organizations to provide for the 
19 
establishment, operation, coordination, and evaluation of programs to support the 
20 
empowerment of girls or boys in a variety of ways, including by: 
21 
(A) 
encouragl11g youth empowerment through extracurricular activities and 
22 
programs; and 
23 
(B) supporting youth in a variety of ways that: 
24 
(i) develop self-esteem, skills, and talents; and· 
25 
(ii) celebrate characteristics unrelated to sexual appeal or physical 
26 
appearance. 
3 


1 
The programs funds may include: 
2 
(A) 
assisting youth in critiquing and rejecting sexualizing and objectifying 
3 
messages within society; 
4 
(B) teaching youth how to create and use media that contribute to social change, 
5 
especially in their communities; 
6 
(C)building confidence and self-efficacy; 
7 
(D) 
building leadership skills; or 
8 
(E) facilitating connections between girls and women, and boys and men, as 
9 
mentors, 
10 
The Secretary shall ensure that funding is targeted towards (but need not be 
11 
exclusively restricted to) projects that are: 
12 
(A) 
focused in urban, rural, and other underserved areas; 
13 
(B) gender-specific; 
14 
(C) focused on a variety of populations, including racial and ethnic minorities and 
15 
representatives of several socioeconomic status groups; 
16 
(D) 
culturally and linguistically appropriate for the populations being served; 
17 
and 
18 
(E) developed in collaboration with the long-term stakeholders, 
19 
The Secretary shall require each grant recipient to submit to the Secretary a report· 
20 
for each grant period that describes how grant funds were used; and evaluates the 
21 
effectiveness of the program funded through the grant. 
22 
A grant may be made only if the applicant involved agrees to the following: 
23 
(l) Not more than 20 percent of the grant funds will be used for administration, 
24 
accounting, reporting, and program oversight functions, 
25 
(2) The grant will be used to supplement and not supplant funds from other 
26 
sources for increasing the media literacy of, and cmpowering, youth, 
4 


1 
(3) The applicant wi II abide by any limitations deemed appropriate by the 
2 
Secretary on any charges to individuals receiving services pursuant to the 
3 
grant. As deemed appropriate by the Secretary, such limitations on charges 
4 
may vary based on the financial circumstances of the individual receiving 
5 
services. 
6 
Not later than two years after the date of effectivity of this Act, and annually 
7 
thereafter, the Secretary shall prepare and submit to the appropriate committees of the 
8 
Congress a report on the grants awarded, including a description of how the grant funds 
9 
were used; and an evaluation of the effectiveness of such grants. 
10 
SECTION 4. Research on the Role and Impact of Girls and Women in the Media 
11 
on Youths' Development. - The Secretary shall review, synthesize, and conduct or 
12 
support research on the role and impact of depictions of girls and women in the media on 
13 
the psychological, sexual, physical, and interpersonal dcvelopment of youth in the 
14 
following areas: 
15 
(1) I-low depictions of girls and women in the media affect youth in the following 
16 
areas of childhood development: 
17 
(A) 
Cognitive areas such as mental health, self-esteem, learning abilities, 
18 
and problem solving skills. 
19 
(B)Physieal areas such as diet, nutrition, exercise, body image, substance 
20 
abuse, and sleeping and eating routines. 
21 
(C)Social behavioral areas such as relationships with peers, interactions 
22 
with parents and family members, aggression, high-risk behaviors, 
23 
sexual behavior and development, and positive social behaviors. 
24 
(2) How depictions of girls and women in the media affect girls' and boys' 
25 
perceptions in the following areas: 
5 


, . 
1 
(A) 
Girls' perceptions and attitudes about girls' and boys' abilities, 
2 
equity, appearances, and leadership potentiaL 
3 
(B)Boys' perccptions and attitudes about girls' and boys' abilities, equity, 
4 
appearances, and leadership potentiaL 
5 
(3) How the sexualization and objectification of girls and women in (he media 
6 
affects girls and boys, 
7 
(4) The impact of depictions of girls and women in the media on youths' academic 
8 
performance, 
9 
(5) The impact that depictions of girls and women in the media has on girls and 
10 
boys of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds and developmentally across age, 
11 
(6) How factors such as format, length of exposure, age of youth, and nature of 
12 
parental involvement impact youth, 
13 
(7) I-low food marketing and obesity campaigns affect girls' and boys' body 
14 
image, nutrition, and exerCIse, especially among eating-disordered youth 
15 
populations, 
16 
(8) Additional areas as designated by the Secretary, 
17 
Not later than two years after (he date of the effectivity of this Act, and annually 
18 
thereafter, the Secretary shall prepare and submit to the appropriate committees of the 
19 
Congress a report that: 
20 
(1) synthesizes the results of research under this Act; and other related research by 
21 
the private or public sector; 
22 
(2) disaggregates such resulls by gender, race, and socioeconomic background; 
23 
(3) includes a compendium of key existing research on the role and impact of 
24 
depictions of girls and women in the media; and 
25 
(4) outlines gaps in research on the role and impact of depictions of girl and 
26 
women in the media and identities areas where future research is needcd, 
6 


1 
SECTION 5. National Task Force on Girls and Women in the Media. -- The 
2 
Secretary of the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTe) shall 
3 
convene a task force, to be known as the National Task Force on Girls and Women in the 
4 
Media, to develop voluntary stcps and goals for promoting healthy and positive 
5 
depictions of girls and women in the media for the benefit of all youth. 
6 
The Task Force shall include representatives of the media industry, nonprofit and 
7 
youth-serving organizations, academia and research entities, psychologists and other 
8 
child health professionals, and any other public or private entity designated by the 
9 
DOTC. 
10 
The Task Force shall identify; 
11 
(1) concerns with how the media regulated by the DOTC portrays girls and 
12 
women; 
13 
(2) the impact of negative depictions of girls and women on the development 
14 
of youth; and 
15 
(3) voluntary steps and goals that the public and private sectors can take to . 
16 
promote healthy and positive media depictions of girls and women for the 
17 
benefit of all youth. 
18 
The DOTC Secretary shall ensure that the Task Force holds its first meeting not 
19 
later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
20 
Not later than 12 months after the date of the first meeting of the Task Force, the 
21 
DOTC shall submit a report to Congress that contains the findings of the Task Force; and 
22 
recommendations for areas of improvement regarding depictions or girls and women in 
23 
the media. 
7 


1 
SECTION 6. Separability Clause. - If any provision of chis Act shall be declared 
2 
unconstitutional, any other provision not affected thereby shall remain in full force and 
3 
effect. 
4 
SECTION 7. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations, 
5 
or parts thereof inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed or amended accordingly. 
6 
SECTION 8. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
7 
pUblication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved, 
Ifldpdec2014 
8