The following findings were forwarded by the study:
1. GBV, women’s human rights and gender equality as evolving concepts
a. Not limited to legal definitions
b. Implications to women’s access to justice
2. Documentation as entry point to GBV services
a. Documentation as formalizing women’s entry to legal and social welfare systems
b. Unrecorded GBV
After our data gathering, we realized that official data is not only a reflection of reported but more importantly, of RECORDED cases. The tenet is that if
there is no documentation, it’s not official. You will not be able to ask assistance from the government. Documentation is an entry point of women to
state and government services and it also officializes her story. Some women just want to to open up about the abuse they experience and settle but
they are afraid to go on record.
There are cases of unrecorded child marriages; there are many times in the barangays wherein rape cases will be reported. However, in Muslim areas, if
the perpetrator offered marriage and if it was accepted by the family, the rape case is erased. The state cannot interfere with that. This shows how
sociocultural considerations play an important role in GBV cases.
3. Published data on GBV only refer to point of entry data
a. Information on status of cases, process not readily available
b. Diversity and intersectionality
4. Extensive quantitative and qualitative data on GBV
a. GBV data can be found in several government agencies, at all levels and some can be accessed online
The challenge is on the local level, they are not publishing so much which is a critical gap in GBV. We have most macro-data at the national level but we
have to consider that what might be true at the national level, may not be true to local level, especially on Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged
Areas (GIDA) areas.
MAKING DATA WORK FOR WOMEN: VALIDATION OF FRAMEWORK AND RESEARCH FINDINGS ON GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE
A DOCUMENTATION REPORT
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