GBV CASE IN REGION IV-A
A 28 years old young mother of a 1-year-old child was physically abused by her
own father. Allegedly, incidents happened sometime in March 2020 and prior the entire
Luzon has been placed under the Enhanced Community Quarantine due to COVID-19
pandemic. According to the victim, the first incident happened when one day that she
was supposed to go to work, her father prevented her from going outside because of
the threat of the aforesaid virus. When she insisted, she was physically assaulted by her
father. Thereafter, she reported the incident to her company, stating that the reason
why she was absent on that particular day was because of the said incident. She was
told by the company to have herself medically examined but when she was again about
to leave their house, she was again prevented by her father and out of her fear that
she might be physically harmed if she insisted, she then obeyed.
Eventually, the victim finally had the courage to disclose the physical abuse by
her father and consequently decided to report the said physical abuse to the barangay.
When the victim’s boyfriend fetched her with a car, the victim’s father suddenly pulled
her out from the car and dragged her back to their house and continued to hurt the
victim. Consequently, victim’s boyfriend reported the physical assault incident to the
barangay. Meanwhile, the victim’s neighbour and friend heard the commotion inside the
house of the victim’s parent and accordingly reported the incident. Barangay came to
rescue, mediated and told the victim that in case the same incident happened, do not
hesitate to immediately report the same. However, shortly after the visit of the
barangay, victim’s father tenaciously broke her cellular phone including her personal
sim card and the company’s.
In order to communicate with her office, the victim was able to borrow a tablet
and communicated with her company via Facebook Messenger about the situation that
she currently has of which was the same free online messaging that she used in
reaching United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Philippines. After the victim
communicated with UNFPA, her case was referred to the Commission on Human Rights
Gender Equality and Women’s Human Rights Center (CHR – GEWHRC) on May 5, 2020
for the reason that the victim wishes to be rescued from her father, leave her parent’s
residence and move with her aunt in NCR or to able to report for work and earn a living
for herself and her daughter.