Violence against women in the Philippines

Abstract

Violence against women is a public crime and human rights violation that has negative social, economic, and health consequences for women and their communities. Violence against women must be studied in a specific context in order to understand how social and cultural norms affect the issue. Based on face-to-face semi-structured interviews with UN Women, relevant nongovernmental organizations, academics, and government services for gender- based violence victims, this study looked into the current legislation, actions and policies being carried out by different actors to address violence against women in the Philippines. The data was analyzed using a combination of the Public Health Model created by the Center for Communicable Diseases, and the Integrated Ecological Model by Lori Heise. This study found that violence against women is a widespread issue in the Philippines. However, the lack of a central data bank to consolidate the data from various government services makes the existing data unreliable. Moreover, despite the existence of laws and services to address the issue, government services are inadequate and merely responsive rather than preventive. Nongovernment organizations and academics play a complementary role where the government services fall short. This study also found various factors about the Philippine culture that serve as risk factors, protective factors, and factors that affect reporting behavior. By identifying these different factors, this study opens the door for two main possibilities: negative cultural factors that pose a risk or affect reporting behavior can be turned around to become protective factors instead; and the existing positive aspects of the culture that serve as protective factors must be taken advantage of by making them widespread.