Violence against women in the Philippines
The term "violence against women" is "the word or concept (that) has been used in a broad, inclusive manner to encompass verbal abuse, intimidation, physical harassment, homicide, sexual assault, and rape.
According to the 2017 National Demographic and Health Survey in the Philippines, one in every four (or 26%) ever-married women aged 15–49 had ever experienced physical, sexual or emotional violence by their husband or partner.
[6] Under the service of the King of Spain, Ferdinand Magellan led an expedition to further explore territories that were not yet discovered by Europe.
Aside from the discrimination, some Filipinas were violated by parish priests as many young women were often raped or sexually abused in beaterios.
Moros from Western Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago also raided the coastal Christian areas of Luzon and the Visayas.
Because of these conflicts in the archipelago, Filipinos were occasionally captured as prisoners and as a result, many of the women were sold to the opposing forces as slaves.
[5] Women were no longer allowed to hold high ranking positions in society and as mentioned earlier, were banned from participating in public and political events.
[5] In the year 1898, the United States seized control over the Philippines shortly after defeating the remaining Spanish forces in the country.
In one of the accounts of General Jacob Smith about the war, he stated that he ordered a Major Waller to kill and burn everyone and everything at Balangiga in the Samar province and not to take in any prisoners.
Stories of American soldiers raping Filipino women have been reported and heard of countless times but no one knows to what extend or if it's greatly exaggerated.
An instance of such discrimination was evident in public schools as the teachers did not care nor support the idea of gender equality.
[9] Filipino parents were also led to believe that sending their daughters to secondary and tertiary levels of education was a waste.
Unshaken by the presence of the Americans in the Philippines, the Japanese forces landed at the Lingayen Gulf and continued on to conquer the rest of Manila.
With Manila falling to the hands of the Japanese forces, the troops from the Land of the Rising Sun invaded the whole of the Philippines, occupying it from 1942 to 1945.
Upon their arrival in the country, the Japanese built "houses of relaxation" or comfort stations where Korean, Filipino, and Chinese women were brought and forced into service.
Because most of the men were at war, the women were left practically defenseless in their own homes and without a choice but to submit their bodies to the Japanese.
[10][13] Violence against women was not as widespread or public[vague] compared to the years when the Philippines was under the rule of the Spaniards, Americans, and the Japanese.
"[15] The "performative display of violence on the female body (therefore) carried out by the country’s power-wielders contains, besides its pornographic import, the ominous implication that it will be told and retold as a moral tale to threaten women into submission and subjugation.
The Philippine Statistics Authority’s National Demographic and Health Survey 2022 found that 17.5 % of Filipino women ages 15-49 have experienced physical, sexual or emotional violence from their intimate partners.
[21] Recognizing "the need to protect the family and its members particularly women and children from violence and threats to their personal safety and security", RA 9262 was signed by former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on March 8, 2004.
[21] Under the RA 9262, VAW refers to "any act or a series of acts committed by any person against a woman who is his wife, former wife, or against a woman with whom the person has or had a sexual or dating relationship, or with whom he has a common child, or against her child whether legitimate or illegitimate, within or without the family abode, which result in or is likely to result in physical, sexual, psychological harm or suffering, or economic abuse including threats of such acts, battery, assault, coercion, harassment, or arbitrary deprivation of liberty.
Barangay officials are expected to "respond immediately to a call for help or request for assistance or protection of the victim.
"[21] Any barangay official or law enforcer who fails to report the incident shall be liable for a fine not exceeding P10,000 and/or whenever applicable, criminal, civil, or administrative liability.
[23] Signed on October 29, 1997, RA 8371 highlights the state's recognition and promotion of all the rights of Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs).
Its main priorities during that time were as follows: After the Martial Law, the new administration ordered for a change in the Constitution, which led the NCRFW to revise its platform and ultimately, decide to prioritize the "mainstreaming [of] women’s concerns in policy making, planning, and programming of all government agencies."
The establishment of the gender equality principle in the 1987 Philippine Constitution indicated that the concern for the welfare of women rose as one of the top priorities of the government.
It is a local non-government organization that provides psycho-social support and referrals to female survivors of domestic and intimate-relationship violence (and their children).
[36] The Bathaluman Crisis Centre Foundation is a non-profit organization established in 1991 to help female survivors of violence.
The foundation provides a support system, including a service and referral centre, to help survivors deal with their physical trauma.
Furthermore, Bantay Bata spearheads psychosocial activities that help the child victims cope with their difficult pasts and experiences.
