FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION (FGD): Gender-Based Violence Referral Mechanism CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY Kagawad Daano also shared a case where a AAA, a 9 year old girl was subjected to sexual abuse by her father since she was 3 years old but only had the courage to report recently due to fear of her father. Upon further investigation, it was then discovered that another sister of the victim, BBB, was also subjected to sexual abuse by their father. These cases were only reported when their mother arrived from abroad because the latter is an overseas Filipino worker. Ms. Leopoldo, an administrative officer from the CSWD who caters to after-care, reported that she has rarely encountered VAWC cases but attributed that this is also perhaps due to the fact they are a relatively new unit in the CSWD. Majority of the cases referred to her involve street children, abused children, and CICL. She shares that they have recently launched a LAMDAG program where they send street children and CICLs to school. The main point of the program was the reformation of the children. The said program is in coordination with Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan and Oro Youth. She observed that most of these children are aged 15 to 17 years old and come from broken families. Ms. Balaba from the CSWD shared that most of the women victims who are referred to her office are actually high-school graduates earning income which is however not sufficient for a comfortable living. These victims are usually aged above 30; she has rarely encountered cases involving women who are above 50 years old. The cases Ms. Balaba has handled involve women who are single parents, and those who have children from various relationships. She observed that most of the victims of abuse are unmarried women who are cohabiting with their partners. In contrast, Ms. Balahay, also from the CSWD, shared that the clients she usually meets are the husbands or the fathers whose concerns are custody of the children. Most of them come from middleclass families. Police Officer Diango shared that reports of violence committed against children and women are usually discovered following the implementation of the 10pm curfew. Atty. Gaudiel recapped and pointed out that most of the victims of GBV cut across sectors with most women being financially dependent on their husbands. She also noted that most of the victims come from broken families. LOCAL POLICIES All of the attendees acknowledged the presence of local policies in CdO which aim to address women and children concerns such as the Children’s Code, GAD Code, and Local Parental Responsibility Code. Ms. Silvosa shared that for their part at the CSWD, they have incorporated the implementation of these policies to their programs and have allotted the necessary budget for its implementation. In fact, their GAD budget accordingly exceeds the usual 5% requirement. Page 9 of 16