Abuse cases on the rise in Zambo shelters

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines—Janiya (not her real name) gave birth a week ago to a frail and weak baby boy while still recuperating from serious burns and scalds that her husband had inflicted.

Janiya’s only fault was that there was no food left when her husband arrived.

Unemployed and still in fear, Janiya admits she’s having a hard time trying to rebuild her life with her other children, as her husband had long gone into hiding. Police continue to search for him for what he did to her.

Senior Supt. Angelito Casimiro, acting city police chief, said Janiya’s was only one of many cases of violence against women and children occurring inside evacuation centers here.

“There’s a high number of cases involving the abuse of women and we attribute this to congestion,” said Casimiro.

He said that to date, at least 123 complaints involving the abuse of women and children had been received by police. All of the cases took place inside Joaquin F. Enriquez Memorial Sports Complex and areas near it, where evacuees also converge.

The City Social Welfare and Development Office said it had recorded more cases, including the rape of women and children.

Leonida Bayan, assistant social welfare officer, said that so far, her office had monitored 142 cases of violence against women and children.

Shallom Pir Allian, program manager of “Nisa Ul Haqq fi Bangsamoro” (Women for Justice in the Bangsamoro), said cases of violence against women and children in evacuation centers were not new.

“We have documented several cases, even at the height of the evacuation during the war. We have rescued women brutally abused by their partners and referred them to the Social Welfare Department. These gender-based [cases of] violence are repeatedly occurring among women IDPs (internally displaced persons, or evacuees),” Allian said.

Zenaida Arevalo, director of the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Western Mindanao, said her office had documented two cases of incest.

A few days after Sept. 9 last year, when followers of Nur Misuari launched a terror attack on the city, an uncle raped his niece; the most recent was the rape of a 3-year old girl.

The nongovernment organizations Nisa Ul Haqq fi Bangsamoro and Nonviolent Peace Force (NPF) expressed grave concern over an increase in the number of cases of violence against women and children in evacuation centers.

“It is unacceptable and condemnable,” Jasmin Teodoro, of NPF, told the Inquirer.

Jose Mari Reyes Information Specialist, a research team based in Metro Manila, conducted a survey from Feb. 19 to 24 among 899 female respondents in three evacuation sites and three transition sites, and revealed disturbing findings.

Project IDP research analysts Robert Basilio said the survey was about the quality of life in the resettlement sites, incidence of gender-based violence and the services they receive in the sites.

On gender-based cases, Basilio said physical, psychological and sexual abuses were alarmingly high at the grandstand and at two transition sites in Tulungatung and Taluksangay.

These ranged from yelling, beating, kicking, rape, pulling of hair, throwing objects, humiliation, denying opportunities, discrimination, constant criticism and nonsexual verbal abuse.

“We’ve asked respondents if they are aware [or have heard, seen or knew of gender-based violence] acts, and survey results showed that 52 percent of the 899 respondents revealed that yelling is common, followed by beating (33 percent), kicking (21 percent), rape (20 percent) and pulling of hair (19 percent),” Basilio said.

Casimiro said “only relocation and decongestion will solve these problems.”