Photo by Sara Black | courtesy of Marie Claire
Summary:
Interestingly (or ironically?) enough, while Ana graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in
Journalism from the University of the Philippines, Diliman, her corporate background is in
advertising and banking. Her last post was Assistant Vice-President of a multi-national financial
institution.
Her writing career took off when she transitioned from being a sex & relationship columnist in a
men’s magazine (which she considered a hobby) to sexual health advocate. Using her writing
skills to lend a voice to her advocacy, in addition to sex & relationships, Ana began writing about
women’s issues, sexual reproductive health rights, and what is closest to her heart, HIV/AIDS
awareness.
Ana’s full-length features and essays have been published in men’s magazines like Manual,
UNO and Playboy (Philippines); in women’s magazines like Marie Claire (Philippines), Women’s
Health (Philippines), Metro Magazine, and Working Mom. She maintains a weekly column
called “The Single Files” in The Manila Times.
Ana also writes about women and children suffering in the midst of armed conflict and internal
violence in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao as a correspondent for international
media agencies. Her work on this topic has been posted on IRIN News, the humanitarian news
and analysis service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA)
and Xinhua News, the official press agency of the government of the People’s Republic of
China.
If you ask her what could possibly link sexual health and armed conflict, she will jovially tell
you that they both entail some form of protection. Later, she may tell you that the deeper link is
actually the human rights aspect.
In January 2010, Ana founded a website called SexAndSensibilities.com, of which she is
Editorial Director. SAS, as the site is aptly nicknamed, aims to empower young Filipinas by
giving them accurate, honest information about sexual health. Heralding the value of loving
one’s self first, SAS hopes to inspire women to make informed choices about their sexual health
and their reproductive health rights.
Sex and Sensibilities conducts sexual health workshops called “Triple S” which is so named
because it tackles three different subjects:
S1
S2
S3
The materials for the Triple S Sexual Health Workshop are done in consultation with the United
Safer sex and STI Prevention
Sexual Health Rights
Stigma and Discrimination
Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) with promotional support from condom manufacturer DKT,
Philippines.
Media Scholarships
In August 2009, Ana attended the International Conference on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific
(ICAAP9), in Bali, Indonesia as a media scholar. During the conference, she spoke about the
many challenges of communicating safer sex in a devoutly Catholic country like the Philippines.
Recently, Ana was given a scholarship to attend East West Center’s Summer Institute 2010 for
International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights. The conference, which was just concluded
in May took place in Bali, Indonesia, and focused on internal conflicts in Asia and how they
impact both regional and international peace and security.
A three day field trip to Aceh, the northern most province of Indonesia which was devastated
by the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 and was plagued by almost 30 years of internal conflict,
was also part of the conference. In Aceh, the participants met with various political parties,
NGOs and government officers in charge of reintegrating former combatants to civilian life and
discussed various aspects of peace-building efforts in Aceh.
Ana was also given a media scholarship by Women Deliver, a global advocacy organization
that calls for concrete action against maternal death. In June, Ana will attend their global
conference, “Delivering Solutions for Girls and Women”, in Washington, D.C.
Affiliations
Member, Women’s Media Circle
Co-founder, Writer’s Block Philippines
Educational Background
University of the Philippines
Diliman, Quezon City
BA Journalism 1996
Assumption College
High School
San Lorenzo, Makati
Our Lady of Perpetual Help
Grade School
San Francisco, CA, USA
Interestingly (or ironically?) enough, while Ana graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of the Philippines, Diliman, her corporate background is in advertising and banking. Her last post was Assistant Vice-President of a multinational financial institution.
Her writing career took off when she transitioned from being a sex & relationship columnist in a men’s magazine (which she considered a hobby) to sexual health advocate. Ana used writing to lend a voice to women’s issues in relation to sexual reproductive health rights, and what is closest to her heart, HIV/AIDS awareness.
Ana’s full-length features and essays have been published in men’s magazines such as Manual, UNO, and Playboy (Philippines); in women’s magazines like Marie Claire (Philippines), Women’s Health (Philippines), Metro Magazine, and Working Mom.
Ana also writes about women and children suffering in the midst of armed conflict and internal violence in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao as a correspondent for international media agencies. Her work on this topic has been posted on IRIN News, the humanitarian news and analysis service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA).
In January 2010, Ana founded a website called SexAndSensibilities.com. SAS, as the site is aptly nicknamed, aims to empower young Filipinas by giving them accurate, honest and culturally appropriate information about sexual health. And in November 2011, Ana published Happy Even After: A Solo Mom’s Journal. Both storybook and diary, Happy Even After hopes to be a solo mom’s ally in writing a true-to-her-own-life fairytale. Ana is also Associate Editor of Illustrado Magazine, a lifestyle fashion magazine for expat Filipinos based in the Gulf.
Ana’s work may be viewed on <www.anasantoswrites.com>.
