Cases of rape, battering of women,kids double; thousands join rally vs sexual violence

ILOILO CITY— An advocacy group for women and children’s welfare has reported that cases of violence against women and children are on the rise in the Philippines.

On the average, “one woman or child is raped every 53 minutes; one woman is battered every 16 minutes,” the Center for Women’s Resources (CWR), states in its report.

The CWR report, which was posted on its website, showed that the number of recorded rape cases in the country nearly doubled from 5,132 in 2010 to 9,875 in 2014.

“Alarmingly, the victims are getting younger and the numbers are rising. Seven in 10 victims of rape are children,” according to the CWR report.

With this information as backdrop, thousands of women and men protesters joined rallies in Panay on Tuesday to mark International Women’ Day.  They decried the continued increase in the number of cases of violence against women and children.  The protesters also called for the upliftment of the economic conditions of women, a key, they said, to creating the social environment that would make them less vulnerable to abuse.

In Roxas City in Capiz, about 2,000 protesters led by the women’s group Gabriela held a rally at the Roxas City bandstand decrying the lack of jobs, low wages and government’s failure to promptly provide assistance to survivors of the Nov. 8, 2013 Supertyphoon “Yolanda.”

In Estancia town in Iloilo, about 1,500 protesters led by Hugpong Kababaihan joined a rally that denounced rape and other cases of violence against women.

The protesters, many of whom were also hit by Yolanda, also called for the “just compensation” of residents who were displaced by the massive oil spill that hit the town after a power barge rammed the coastline at the height of “Yolanda.’

In Iloilo City, around 500 protesters led by Gabriela held a forum at the Iloilo provincial capitol before marching on the main streets of the city.

In the capital town of Kalibo in Aklan, around 150 protesters held a picket at the Pastrana Park. The protesters also demanded the release of assistance for survivors of the supertyphoon.

“The calamities have hit the women the hardest because they are the ones burdened on how to make ends meet amid the delayed and meager government assistance and the loss of their livelihood,” said Roxanne Arciaga, spokesperson of Gabriela’s Panay-Guimaras chapter.

She said the girls were the first one to quit schooling when families could no longer afford to send their children to school.

Cases of violence against women (VAW) especially rape have significantly increased.  SFM