The Department of Tourism will investigate a resort in Samal Island over a sexual harassment and gender discrimination complaint against its employees and management.
Isla Reta Beach Resort in Samal Island is under fire after Shannon Gonzaga, a transgender woman, rcomplained that she experienced discrimination from the management of the establishment after she was prohibited from using the women’s bathroom.
The resort on Wednesday confirmed that it has a policy “not to allow transgenders to use the female shower area” and that the management has “no facility yet to cater to the transgenders’ demand for a separate shower room.”
Supporting Gonzaga, the University of the Philippines (UP) Babaylan said the policy itself is “discriminatory” and emphasized that “trans women are women, and as this and many other cases have proven, trans people are actually the ones getting harassed in restrooms.”
Several Filipino transgender advocacy groups, through a joint statement, also scored the resort, saying the policy violates a person’s basic rights and dignity.