CEDAW/C/PHI/Q/6 Violence against women 4. The report notes that the Family Courts Act of 1997 established family courts in major cities all over the country to foster a more proactive approach to protecting the rights of women and children against domestic violence and incest (para. 210). Please provide information on whether an assessment of the effectiveness of these courts has been undertaken and related findings and describe any plans to establish family courts in those cities where they do not yet exist. 5. The report indicates that from 1995 to June 2001, the Philippine Commission on Human Rights investigated 377 cases of violation of women’s human rights and that the perpetrators were identified as police officers, local officials or employees, civilians and military personnel (para. 131). Please provide information on the number of prosecutions that have been brought against these individuals and the sentences imposed. What measures are being taken to prevent violation of women’s human rights by police officers and other public officials who abuse their authority? 6. The Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people indicates that militarization has engendered human rights violations against women and children (E/CN.4/2003/90/Add.3, para. 50). Most of these abuses are cases of rape, sexual harassment, forcing girls to serve as “comfort women” in military camps and compulsory prostitution. Kindly explain the measures taken by the Government to address the issue of violence against indigenous women. 7. The report states that the Anti-Violence against Women and Their Children Act of 2004 aims to stem the high incidence of violence against women and criminalize perpetrators (para. 207). The Act also provides for issuance of “protection orders” to stop violence and prevent recurrence of future violence. Please provide information on measures taken to disseminate the Act in society, especially among women and other people in the community, and how many “protection orders” have been issued since 2004. Please also provide information on action to train judges, police officers and other law enforcement personnel with regard to the provisions of the Act. Trafficking and exploitation of prostitution 8. The report notes that the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 sets penalties for various types of offences related to trafficking (para. 188 (c)). Please provide information on the rate of arrests and convictions under the Act. 9. In its previous concluding comments, the Committee commented on the discrimination in the application of laws against women prostitutes but not against men involved as traffickers, pimps and clients, and suggested that measures dealing with prostitution should focus on penalizing traffickers.1 Please provide information on what effective measures have been taken to stop such discriminatory application of laws and to focus on penalizing traffickers. 10. The report states that in January 1999, the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime was created and tasked with establishing a shared central database among government agencies for information on criminals, arrests and convictions on 1 2 Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-second Session, Supplement No. 38 (A/52/38/Rev.1), paras. 292 and 299.