Chapter I
Introduction
The pandemic in 2020 has not brought down statistics across the world as
figures of filed complaints have taken an unprecedented hike that
correspondingly increased the violence especially at the domestic front.
The Philippines is not exempt, as President Rodrigo Duterte, in his report
to Congress revealed that per Philippine National Police (PNP) report,
there have been over 1,945 incidents of violence against women across the
country since lockdown as of June 4, 2020 (Ramos, 2020).
Earlier, the Center for Women’s Resources reported through its Ulat Lila
2020, the bi-annual report on the situation of Filipino women presented at
the University of the Philippines in Diliman its analysis based on data from
the Philippine National Police-Women and Children Protection Center
(PNP-WCPC). Said report revealed that there have been 6,315 VAW
reported cases across the Philippines from April to June 2019.
Findings of the CWR state that “Violence against women continues to be
among the issues that haunt women and children” and the “intensifying
socioeconomic and political crisis, coupled with a regressive feudal
patriarcal mindset of leaders in the country, increased the vulnerability of
women to gender-based abuses” (Villanueva, 2020).
CWR’s observations likewise include, that “authorities refrain from
releasing VAW-related data, including rape cases, after the controversy
about state-perpetrated violence in 2018” and that, “at least 63 police
officers have been involved in cases of violence against women, including
rape, from July 2016 until December 2019” (Villanueva, 2020).
Government however has been relentless in the anti-violence against
women campaign through various agencies, covering primarily tasked
agencies such as the Philippine Women’s Commission (PCW) as well as
government agencies and local government units enjoined as partners in
advocacy.
Thus, the Advanced Science and Technology Institute (ASTI) of the
Department of Science and Technology (DOST) calls: “Violence against
women (VAW) is a grave violation of Women’s rights and fundamental
freedoms. It manifests deep-seated discrimination and gender inequality
and continues to be one of the country’s perennial social provlems.
Therefore, various measures and mechanisms have been employed and
implemented to address it” (ASTI, 2020).