OLONGAPO CITY—Two-month old women-led and Scout-led anti-sexual assault movement played a vital role at the 44^th Tarlac Council Scout Jamboree (TCSJ) held on January 28 to February 1, at Sitio Calao, San Jose, Mayantoc, Tarlac.

The Luzon cluster of Scouts Against Sexual Harassment and Abuse teamed up to work with the Boy Scouts of the Philippines (BSP) – Tarlac Council as the official Messengers of Peace module during the 44^th TCSJ as the first step in their partnership for a gender equal movement and keeping Scouts safer from harm.

The first face-to-face provincial Jamboree after three years of hiatus seeks to promote different programs of the Scouting movement including its ideals, mission, and methods while adapting to the changes brought by COVID-19 pandemic and being relevant.

Scouting is known for its programs like the Messengers of Peace (MoP) which inspires Scouts to take action to achieve peace and sustainable development. This includes gender equality, reduce inequalities, and creating safe spaces not only for Scouts, but for everyone.

SASHA served as the official MoP module under the Better World Framework Village of the jamboree. In a jamboree, modules are stations where participants need to listen, participate, and commit to its discussion and program to complete all activities.

SASHA Luzon Cluster head, Venturer Scout Samantha Lorraine Jauco lead the team together with Scouts from Southern Tagalog Region, National Capital Region, and Central Luzon Region under the supervision of ES Jan Khim Gamora, WBH, and the guidance of ES Bianca Mae Elpedes, TOBS 2021. SASHA Marinduque Chapter Chairperson ES Maria Elena Malvar was also present in the event.

Under its official local campaign #TarlaForSASHA and its national campaign #LetTealTakeOver, the organization talked about the relevance of SASHA and MoP, held activities that both challenged and changed the mindset of the participants like the “Green Flags and Red Flags” station, as well as the “Like a Girl” station.

Jauco encouraged the Scouts to work on achieving peace through fighting gender-based violence and actively campaigning for gender equality.

“There is no peace without gender equality. We are Scouts, we are Messengers of Peace,” she said during one of the module presentations.

Marinduque’s Malvar and Tarlac’s Scout Franceine Rose Fernando on the other hand addressed various problems with the patriarchal society, how it hinders achieving gender equality, and how it breeds violence.

Another highlight of the module was the historic participation of thousands of Scouts in the global One Billion Rising movement which will be launched on February 14 as part of the organization’s solidarity to the 2023 campaign.

Jauco thanked all the Scouts and Scout Leaders who heeded to the call to break the silence, and end the violence.

“Dakal a salamat, Tarlac. Magpatuloy tamu king ating paglaban king abuso ampung karahasan para keng kapayapaan— para kareng babai, para kareng anak, para king bayan, (Thank you so much, Tarlac. Let’s continue our fight against abuse and violence to achieve peace—for the women, for the children, for the people)” she said in a post.

The 44^th Tarlac Council Scout Jamboree was organized by the Local Council Executive Board, Tarlac Council’s staff lead by its Council Scout Executive Salve Aguilar and logged more than 2,500 participants from all over the province.