station) in Cebu City.48 Ritchie filed the criminal and administrative case was filed on the 22nd of March before the Integrity Monitoring and Enhancement Group Visayas Field Unit (IMEG-VFU), on the 19th of April 2021, Ritchie was shot dead by unidentified assailants. In these cases, immediate investigations were conducted by the PNP. In the case Ritchie the 11 cops who allegedly tortured and raped her were charged with criminal and administrative cases. They were also administratively dismissed while cases were investigated. In a further development, the cop who allegedly raped Ritchie Committed suicide two hours after she was shot down. In response, the Commission issued a statement49 denouncing the persistence of violence against women, especially those perpetrated by state actors. The Commission stressed that women victims, as key witnesses should be granted full protection from any form of retaliation or attacks to ensure that they may exercise their right to participate in investigations and legal proceedings. Conduct of speedy investigation was enjoined as there are other complaints who remain vulnerable to such violence. For the Commission, it was clear that the case of Ritchie highlighted a gaping protection gap for women survivors of GBV. The Commission already highlighted this in the case of Fabel in 2021 - a minor who was also shot dead after failing to secure protection after filing a case of GBV against members of the PNP. These cases highlight not only the importance of responding immediately to complaints of GBV, but also of ensuring protection for survivors. Navigating the legal system, securing legal and other support services for survivors of GBV is already a challenge, this is more so in cases where alleged perpetrators are members of the law enforcement and with capability of retaliation. There is an urgent need to review the protection gaps from within the referral mechanisms in these cases and to address them thereby ensuring a safe and enabling environment for women to pursue justice. Second, continuing complaints of insensitivity, lack of accessibility and failure to follow a survivor centered approach in cases of GBV. We seek to highlight this as a continuing issue as of the 35 complaints that we have received, 5 of them pertained to members of the law enforcement and 7 from other government officials as perpetrators. One of these complaints included a complaint against law enforcement as a perpetrator in a case of rape, and others pertained to insensitive handling of cases. Accounts of victim blaming were reported to have been exhibited by desk officers of PNP Women’s Desks and in the barangay; in one instance, repeated and seemingly threatening questions were raised by the women’s desk officers- raising questions regarding a rape survivor’s account, doubting the veracity of her account, and perceived to be discouraging the survivor from filing the case. In another, a case of VAWC was recommended to be settled by the Barangay and even by the prosecutors’s office. In the Commission’s cases involving a deaf survivor, we continue to note the absence of sign language interpreters in government offices - from one stop shops for GBV, in police stations, in hospitals, and in 48 Two women claim being tortured in Cebu City Police Station. Rappler. 5 April 2021. https://www.rappler.com/nation/women-say-were-tortured-secret-room-cebu-city-police-station (Accessed 31 August 2021) 49 CHR ED Jacqueline De Guia.Statement of CHR Spokesperson, Atty. Jacqueline Ann de Guia, on the death of former female detainee in Cebu City who was allegedly raped by police officers. 21 April 2021. https://chr.gov.ph/statement-of-chrspokesperson-atty-jacqueline-ann-de-guia-on-the-death-of-a-former-female-detainee-in-cebu-city-who-was-allegedly-rapedby-police-officers/ 11