Women leaders, advocates pledged fight vs violence against women

DAVAO CITY, Dec. 03 (PIA) – Women leaders and advocates from various sectors in the city voiced out and pledged a unified stand to fight violence against women and children (VAWC).

About two hundred women including some men recently signed on the Anti-VAWC Commitment Wall as part of the observance of the 18-day Anti-VAWC Campaign in Davao City which is being spearheaded by the local government through the Integrated Gender and Development Division (IGDD).

 Prior to the signing, three women leaders from the K’Lata tribe, Moro and Christian communities shared different experiences and views on women abuses in their respective societies.

Atty. Romeo Cabarde of the Ateneo Public Interest Legal Advocacy (APILA) said that from the different voices of women, “VAW transcends all forms of cultures, all forms of communities and religions.”

“The culture of patriarchal still exists regardless of religion, regardless of where we come from,” Cabarde stated during the launching of the 18-day Anti-VAWC Campaign held at SM City Davao.

IGDD officer-in-charge Lorna Mandin said eradicating VAWC remains an urgent task even with the crafting and implementation of international, national and local legislations aiming at comprehensively addressing the issue.

Mandin bared that IGDD recorded 1,041 cases of VAWC from the office’s walk-in clients in 2013, which included mostly rape, physical assault, and economic abuse.

She said the data showed an increase by 197 percent from the record of 521 cases in 2010, noting that most of the victims are young women, while most of the doers are young men aged 18-35 years old.

Mandin underscored the intensified advocacy among various sectors in the locality as one of the essential mechanisms to address the pressing issue.

The IGDD has been spearheading since November 12 this year, several activities such as fora/orientation on VAWC, political and public rights of women and human trafficking, and VAWC trainers’ training.

The 18th day of the Anti-VAWC campaign will culminate in time for the observance of the International Day Against Trafficking in Persons on December 12, which will be held with a march for freedom and short program at People’s Park.

The IGDD, Inter-Agency Council Against TIP (IACAT-XI) Network and various partner agencies will lead about a thousand women and other stakeholders in these campaigns. (PIA-11/Carina L. Cayon)