1. What are the specific constitutional and legislative provisions regarding Violence Against Women (VAW)?
1.1The 1987 Philippine Constitution - The protection of the human rights of all Filipinos is contained in the Philippine Constitution. Among its salient provisions is Article II, Section 14 which provides that “the state recognizes the role of women in nation building and shall ensure the fundamental equality before the law of women and men.”
1.2 Anti-Mail Order Bride Law (Republic Act 6955) – The law declares unlawful the matching of Filipino mail-order brides to foreigners. It penalizes the business of matching Filipino women for marriage to foreign nationals either through personal introduction as well as through advertisement, publication, printing or distribution of brochure and flyers, through membership in clubs created for matching Filipinas to foreign nationals and, through the use of the postal service.
1.3 Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995 (Republic Act 7877) – The law makes incidents involving unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal or physical conduct of sexual nature, made directly or indirectly in the employment, education or training environment unlawful. Sexual harassment is about abusing power relations – using one’s power to extract sexual favors.
1.4 Anti-Rape Law of 1997 (Republic Act 8353) – The law reclassifies rape as a crime against persons, defining it as public rather than a private crime. It recognizes marital rape and questions the notion of sexual obligation in marriage. It also notes that rape happens even without penetration and the use of objects as constituting sexual assault, which is also considered as a form of rape. The law also increased the penalties against rape.
1.5 Rape Victims Assistance and Protection Act of 1998 (Republic Act 8505) – The law provides assistance and protection to rape victims, establishes for the purpose a rape crisis center in every province and city and authorizes the appropriation of funds for the establishment and operation of the rape crisis center. Aside from the provision of services, capacity building/training is also mandated for the law enforcement officers, public prosecutors, lawyers, medico-legal officers, social workers and barangay officials on human rights and their responsibilities, gender sensitivity and legal management of rape cases.
1.6 Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 (Republic Act 9208) – The law defines trafficking in person in terms of the acts, means and purposes of trafficking. The trafficked person is considered as a victim thus, she/he should be provided protection and support services by the State. Government agencies are mandated to provide services to the trafficked persons at the international, national and local levels for his/her early recovery and reintegration.
- Philippine National Police (PNP) for investigatory services or procedures
- Department of Health (DOH) for medical or hospital-based services
- Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for psychosocial services
- Department of Justice (DOJ) for legal/prosecution services
- DILG and LGUs for anti-VAW services at the barangay, municipal, city and provincial levels.