CEDAW/C/PHI/Q/6/Add.1 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 pro-active 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. As of December 2000, the Supreme Court of the Philippines has designated 71 Regional Trial Courts across the country to be Family Courts. These family courts have original jurisdiction over cases involving children, conjugal matters such as nullity of marriage and domestic violence. The Supreme Court also pilot tested a Mobile Court that is making the rounds of city jails in Metro Manila to hear cases of overstaying detainees. This Mobile Court hear cases meant for 1st level courts, including family courts. Because of the relative success of the Mobile Court, there are now plans to set up a Mobile Court in the Visayas and another one in Mindanao. The Supreme Court also recently created the Committee on Gender Responsiveness in the Judiciary which implements gender mainstreaming in the programs, projects and policies of the judiciary. Among others, the Committee has been training justices, judges and prosecutors in gender sensitive handling of cases. The Philippine Judicial Academy, the training arm of the Supreme Court has likewise included RA 9208 (Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act) and RA 9262 (Anti Violence Against Women and their Children Act or Anti- VAWC) in their teaching modules. Gender Sensitivity has also been included as one of the required subjects in the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) of lawyers which is also under the supervision of the Supreme Court. A study has yet to be made on the effectiveness of the Family Courts as well as of the Anti- VAWC Act in terms of protecting the rights of women and children against domestic violence and incest. 5. The report indicates that from 1995 to 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, 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? The Philippine Commission on Human Rights (CHR) cannot provide consolidated data on the status of these 377 cases of violation of women’s human rights allegedly committed by police officers, local officials or employees, civilians, and military personnel, which they investigated. According to the CHR, once a resolution on each of these cases is made, whether the recommendation is for prosecution or dismissal, the case are referred to the appropriate prosecutory agency. Unfortunately, the occupation of the perpetrator are not captured in the data collected; thus there is no way of determining how many have been committed by police officers, military personnel, local officials or employees, or civilians. At present, data from various agencies are still being collected and processed. As a measure to prevent the violation of women’s human rights by police officers and other public officials, the CHR practices a very stringent policy in issuing a certification that they have not been subject to a complaint for violation of human rights. Such a certification is often required for 6