Lihok Filipina Foundation and the Bantay Banay Inter Agency Council with the Cebu City Women and Family Affairs Commission are spearheading the 18-day (November 25 to December 12) Campaign Against Violence Against Women. They remind us that it “calls for the elimination of all forms of violence against women through raising awareness about gender-based violence, strengthening local work and establishing a clear link between local and international work to end VAW, among other undertakings.”
The campaign started on November 25 since this is the International Day Against Violence Against Women for this is the day when the Mirabel sisters were “brutally murdered by the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic in 1960”. Other significant days within the campaign period: December 1- World HIV/AIDS Day; December 6-the anniversary of the Montreal Massacre, 14 young women were killed in the University of Montreal’s engineering school; December 10 International Day of Human Rights; December 12 the “adoption of the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Crime, supplemented by the Protocol to Prevent and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children”.
Among the campaign’s objectives is “to increase support mechanisms and make these more accessible to VAW victim-survivors during disaster and crisis and armed conflict situations.” It was pointed out that “to address the issues of women in armed conflict, the United Nations Security Council issued Resolutions 1325 and 1820. Resolution 1820 condemns VAWC during armed conflict situations with special focus on sexual violence. Resolution 1325 focused on two key points: (1) ensuring the equal participation of women in the peace process to ensure that a gender perspective is mainstreamed in all peacekeeping operations and (2) reaffirms the duties of the state to ensure that there are laws protecting women and girls during armed conflict situations.
But there is the general call: “Never commit VAW! Never condone VAW! Never remain silent about VAW!”
The UP Gender and Development Office and Sidlak, Region VII Gender Resource Center strongly support this call and will actively respond to it.
We feel the urgency to eliminate gender-based violence against women because we treasure women and are intensely aware of the present and potential contribution women can make to our society and its development.
We cannot allow the distortions in the persons and lives of women that any form of violence can result in. When violence is inflicted on women the harm is not limited to them only but also inevitably affects their family and their communities as well.
In school, in ngos and government involvement, and in communities we have been exposed to experiences of violence against women. In Legal Alternatives for Women Center (LAW Center Inc.) we observed that several women became victims of domestic violence because of drugs. The husband of one of the clients under the influence of drugs cut her hair and forced her to take drugs with him. Women in Alay Kapwa narrate how harsh words were inflicted on them by drunken husbands. There are those who experience economic violence—in spite of having large family, husbands do not provide financial support. Some neighbors urged Josephine “padagmal nalang aron makakiha ka”. So we realize there is ignorance of our laws to protect women. There is much work to do.
There is also the need to go deeper into the causes of VAW. Women and communities need to realize that these cases are related to the situation of women in our society; that their victimization is related to the inequality they experience. It is also rooted in our culture and history. Violence comes from rearing our boys to be tough and capable of violence to assert their masculinity or giving them “weapons of destruction” as gifts. It also comes from treating human beings as objects or property to which others may have “rights” to control, “rights” to inflict pain. It also comes from accepting and tolerating violence. Agoncillo declared that in the Spanish colonial period females were taught to obey their spouses even when they were immoral.
Since 1986, LAW Center, Inc. due to the widespread prevalence of violence against women has been providing legal services for victims of gender-based violence. Since the beginning legal services were provided with psycho-social processing. The VAW experience is complex. Going through the case helps the victim, but it is not only about winning the case and getting the perpetuator of violence punished. Women needed healing not only from physical wounds. This need resulted in the partnership with the guidance services specialists. Because of the nature of the cases and the partnership, LAW Center Inc. realized the need for family counseling.
Many of the victims of violence were poor. Women in Socio-Economic Enterprises (WISE) was organized. Growing economic independence—economic empowerment had a pronounced positive effect on the self esteem of the women. It became part of the healing process. In confronting gender- based violence there has been a need for a broad alliance where schools, lawyers organizations, media establishments, health establishments, civic and church groups.