Lesson 3: Political-Legal Perspective in Gender and Sexuality
Learning outcomes:
At the end of this lesson, the students are expected to:
1. Discuss the important provision of VAWC Act or RA 9262; and
2. Comprehend actual cases involving the said law.
I. Discussion
3.4. VAWC Act or Republic Act no. 9262
The Republic Act 9262, or the Anti-Violence against Women and their Children
(Anti VAWC) Act of 2004, is a result of the strong advocacies on women's human
rights in the country. This law was deemed to be a significant victory for all Filipino
women as it was based on the right of women not to suffer abuse, discrimination,
and violence in their respective relationships.
Important features of the law include:
1. four kinds of violence against women and children are defined-the law
defined four kinds of violence-physical, psychological, sexual, and economic-in its
effort to encompass all types of abuses inflicted to women, and their children;
2. VAWC is a public crime-the crime is perpetrated not only against a single
individual, but against the entire society, thus anyone who has personal knowledge
of the abuse, violence, or discrimination can file a complaint;
3. protection orders can be issued against the perpetrator-upon filing the case.
the victim-survivor or anyone who has personal knowledge can apply for a
protection order to enforce distance between her and the perpetrator; and
4. stronger community mechanisms to respond to cases-various government
agencies are mandated to aptly respond or formulate mechanisms to respond to
reported cases of VAWC immediately.
Protection Orders
A protection order under the Anti-VAWC Law is defined as:
“… an order issued for the purpose of preventing further acts of violence against
a woman and her child specified in Section of this Act and granting other necessary
relief. The relief granted under a protection order should serve the purpose of
safeguarding the victim, minimizing any disruption in the victim's daily life and
facilitating the opportunity and ability of the victim to independently gain control of
her life"
The law enumerates the following reliefs that may be availed of through a
protection order:
1. prohibition of the respondent (perpetrator) from threatening to committing or
personally or through another, any of the acts penalized by the Ant-VAWC law;
2. prohibition of the respondent from harassing, annoying, telephoning, contacting
or otherwise, communicating with the petitioner (victim-survivor) directly or
indirectly;
3. removal and exclusion of the respondent from the residence of the petitioner
whether temporarily or permanently;
4. directing the respondent to stay away from the petitioner and any designated
family or household member at a distance specified by the court:
5. directing lawful possession and use by the petitioner of an automobile and other
personal effect regardless of ownership:
6. granting temporary or permanent custody of a child/children to the petitioner;
7. directing the respondent to provide support to the woman and/or her child if
entitled to legal support;
8. prohibition of the respondent from any use or possession of any firearm or
deadly weapon and order him to surrender the same, including revocation of
license and disqualification to apply for any license to use or possess a firearm;
9. restitution for actual damages caused by violence inflicted including property
damage, medical expenses, and loss of income;
10. directing the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) or any
appropriate agency to provide temporary shelter and other social services that
the petitioner may need; and
11. provision of other forms of relief as may be necessary to protect and provide
for the safety of the petitioner
Rights of Victim-Survivors of VAWC Cases
RA 9262 specified the following as rights of the victim survivors:
"Section 35, Rights of Victims-In addition to their rights under existing laws, victims
of violence against women and their children shall have the following rights:
(a) to be treated with respect and dignity:
(b) to avail of legal assistance from the Public Attorney's Office and the
Department of Justice or any public legal assistance office;
(c) to be entitled to support services from the DSWD and the LGUs (local
government units);
(d) to be entitled to all legal remedies and support as provided for under the
Family Code; and
(e) to be informed of their right to apply for a protection order. The right to
privacy of the victim is also provided in the law, and its violation is punishable
by imprisonment and fine.
Duties of National and Local Government Offices
Section 39 of RA 9263 provides for the creation of the Inter-Agency Council on
Violence against Women and their Children (IAC-VAWC), which shall formulate
gender-sensitive programs and projects according to their respective agency
mandates, including capability building programs for their employees.
The IAC-VAWC consists of the following agencies: DSWD National
Commission on the Role of Filipino Women. Civil Service Commission, Commission
on Human Rights, Council for the Welfare of Children. Department of Justice,
Department of Interior and Local Government, Philippine National Police,
Department of Health, Department of Education Department of Labor and
Employment, and National Bureau of Investigation.
The implementing rules and regulations of the Anti-VAWC Act state the
following duties and responsibilities of LGUs or the Barangay in addressing VAWC
cases, apart from the issuances of Barangay Protection Orders:
"Section 47. Duties and Functions of Barangay Officials-In order to eliminate
violence against women and their children, barangay officials shall:
(a) undertake an education program on Republic Act No. 9262 and on violence
against women and their children and why it exists, the rights and remedies
of victim- survivors, and the duties of residents and all barangay officials
(b) have a family violence prevention program, including peer counseling for
men
(c) support organizing efforts and development programs for women in the
community:
(d) prioritize livelihood projects for victim-survivors;
(e) involve women in planning and implementation of all programs and projects
in the barangay
(f) have an Anti-VAWC desk officer in the barangay who shall coordinate a one-
stop help desk. As much as possible, this help desk shall be open for 24
hours;
(g) ensure that all barangay officials, barangay health workers, barangay
nutrition scholars, other barangay workers, and tanod or barangay security
officers undergo gender sensitivity seminars to enable them to respond to
victims of violence;
(h) develop a system to document and report cases of VAWC and assistance
program to victims thereof and
(i) if applicable/necessary, prescribe additional guidelines and standards
provided that these are consistent with the Act
II. Reference:
Peralta, E. P. et al. 2019. Gender and Society: A Human Ecological Approach.
Rex Book Store, Inc. Sampaloc, Manila, Philippines.
III. Additional Reading:
Republic Act 9262: Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of
2004 [Link]
children-act-of-2004/
IV. Assessment
Direction: Read and answer the following questions. State your answers
comprehensively.
1. What knowledge obtained about anti-VAWC Act or RA 9262 will be useful to
you, your family, community and society
2. Provide specific ways on how can this knowledge be realized in your family,
community and society.
Criteria for Scoring Highest Possible Score Your Score
Synthesis and Organization
The student presents the essential 5
ideas of the assigned topic/theme.
Ideas are presented coherently, 10
creatively, and expressed from the
student’s perspective.
Total 15