Violence against women rooted in history
VIOLENCE against women (VAW) has long existed in the Philippines because of colonization, according to the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) on Monday.
“Violence against women is deeply rooted in our culture and being colonized as a country,” PCW Chairperson Ermelita V. Valdeavilla told reporters in Filipino at the launch of the 18-day campaign to end VAW.
“Empowered women were killed because they were considered impediments to colonizers,” she said. “There’s a history behind this.”
Highlighting this year’s theme, “VAW Bigyang Wakas, Ngayon na ang Oras! [End VAW, Now is the Time!]”, Ms. Valdeavilla said that she wants to raise awareness about the history of women in the country to help end the violence. “Kung alam mo paano nagsimula, alam mo paano tatapusin [If you know how it started, you’ll know how to end it.]”
In a statement by Ms. Valdeavilla last October 18, she mentioned that during the pre-colonial era of the Philippines, men and women were treated as “nearly equals.” When the colonizers ruled, women were “subjugated, denied education, confined to homes, and disciplined toward subservience”.
“Most of the empowered women perished in this dark part of the Philippines’ colonial history, which also marked the beginning of the impunity to commit violence against women or gender-based violence (GBV),” she said.
According to the data from the Philippine National Police, 11,585 cases related to violence against women were reported last year, wherein 8,055 cases were filed under the Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act or Republic Act (RA) 9262, 2,791 cases under the Anti-Rape Law, and 59 counts under the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act (RA 7877).
In addition, cases under the Safe Spaces Act (RA 11313) reached 473 reports. Meanwhile, 207 recorded cases were under the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act..
Ms. Valdeavilla added that although the statistics show a significant number, many cases remain unrecorded because victims choose not to file a complaint. “The statistics are only an indication of how many cases were reported,” she said.
She added that some factors that contributed to these unrecorded victims were fear of causing family problems, fear of cutting ties with the offender, who is usually the main provider of the family, and shame. — Almira Louise S. Martinez
