Muntinlupa Mayor Ruffy Biazon called for a concerted effort to end violence against women and children (VAWC).
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) have issued guidelines in observance of the 18-Day Campaign to End Violence Against Women slated from Nov. 25 to Dec. 12.
Citing 2017 data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Biazon said one in four women aged 15 to 49 suffered physical, emotional, or sexual violence from their husbands or partners.
“Kaisa ang Pamahalaang Lungsod sa kampanya para wakasan ang karahasan sa mga kababaihan at kabataan (Violence Against Women and Children o VAWC) (The city government is one in the campaign to end violence against women and children),” he said.
In Muntinlupa, he said, there is the SAGIP ng Muntinlupa center that helps women and children who have experienced abuse.
There are also VAWC help desks in barangays to assist victims in the community. The city government has the Muntinlupa Gender And Development Office which implements programs to stop VAWC, said Biazon.
Data from SAGIP ng Muntinlupa showed that from January to October this year, it assisted 440 women and children who became victims of violence in Muntinlupa.
Of the 440 VAWC cases in the city, 314 or 71.4 percent were children while 126 or 28.6 percent were women.
Out of the 314 cases of violence against children, 71 were sexual abuse, including rape and incest. Among the 126 cases of violence against women, 38 or 30 percent were battery.
In 2021, SAGIP ng Muntinlupa recorded 416 cases of violence against women and children.
Biazon said the city government established the Local Committee on Anti-Trafficking and VAWC (LCAT-VAWC) to coordinate and implement Republic Act 9208 (Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003) and Republic Act 9262 (Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act of 2004).
“Ang panawagan natin sa lahat, magsama-sama at magtulung-tulong tayo para mawakasan ang VAWC at ma-i-promote ang mga karapatan ng mga kababaihan (Our call is for everyone to join together and help us to end VAWC and promote the rights of women),” he said.