Anti-violence Against Women and Their Children (RA 9262) by deannica bongala

deannicabongala — 2024-08-21 15:47:39 UTC

deannicabongala — 2024-08-21 15:49:43 UTC

Under Republic Act No. 9262, otherwise known as the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004 (“VAWC”), the concept of “violence” against women and children includes not just physical violence, but also sexual violence, psychological violence, and economic abuse, including threats of such acts, battery, assault, coercion, harassment, or arbitrary deprivation of liberty. The law penalizes 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.”

deannicabongala — 2024-08-21 15:52:25 UTC

What is VAWC under the law?

It 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. It includes, but is not limited to, the following acts:

“Physical violence” refers to acts that include bodily or physical harm;

“Sexual violence” refers to an act which is sexual in nature, committed against a woman or her child. It includes, but is not limited to:

a) rape, sexual harassment, acts of lasciviousness, treating a woman or her child as a sex object, making demeaning and sexually suggestive remarks, physically attacking the sexual parts of the victim’s body, forcing her/him to watch obscene publications and indecent shows or forcing the woman or her child to do indecent acts and/or make films thereof, forcing the wife and mistress/lover to live in the conjugal home or sleep together in the same room with the abuser;

b) acts causing or attempting to cause the victim to engage in any sexual activity by force, threat of force, physical or other harm or threat of physical or other harm or coercion;

c) prostituting the woman or her child.

deannicabongala — 2024-08-21 15:53:46 UTC

“Psychological violence” refers to acts or omissions causing or likely to cause mental or emotional suffering of the victim such as but not limited to intimidation, harassment, stalking, damage to property, public ridicule or humiliation, repeated verbal abuse and marital infidelity. It includes causing or allowing the victim to witness the physical, sexual or psychological abuse of a member of the family to which the victim belongs, or to witness pornography in any form or to witness abusive injury to pets or to unlawful or unwanted deprivation of the right to custody and/or visitation of common children.

“Economic abuse” refers to acts that make or attempt to make a woman financially dependent. This includes but is not limited to the following:

a) withdrawal of financial support or preventing the victim from engaging in any legitimate profession, occupation, business or activity, except in cases wherein the other spouse/partner objects on valid, serious and moral grounds as defined in Article 73 of the Family Code;

b) deprivation or threat of deprivation of financial resources and the right to the use and enjoyment of the conjugal, community or property owned in common;

c) destroying household property;

d) controlling the victim’s own money or properties or solely controlling the conjugal money or properties.

• Children are those below 18 years of age or older but are incapable of taking care of themselves (as stated in Republic Act 7610). It includes the biological children of the victim and other children under her care.

• A dating relationship is one which has a romantic involvement. It means that a relationship existed between a woman and a partner who is abusive or has previously abused her, whether or not the relationship was formal.

• “Sexual relations” refer to a single sexual act which may or may not result to a bearing of a child.