LESSON 17

“VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND THEIR CHILDREN ACT” OR

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9262

Lesson Objectives:

This module discusses the important provisions of the Violence against Women
and their Children (VAWC) Act or RA 9262. This module also discusses important
cases involving the said law.
At the end of this module, you should be able to:
1. Discuss the important provisions of VAWC Act or RA 9262.
2. Understand the details of its commission; and
3. Comprehend actual cases involving the said law.

Definition of terms:
1. Protection Orders- orders issued by the Barangay of the court distancing the
perpetrator from the victim and vice for reasons provided for by the law.
2. Public Crime- nature of a crime wherein it is considered to be an affront to the
society, allowing anyone who hast personal knowledge to file a case for VAWC.

Introduction
The Republic Act 9262, or the Anti-Violence against Women and their Children
(Anti-VAWC) Act of 2004, is a result of strong advocacies on women’s human rights in
the country. This law was deemed to be a signification victory for all Filipino women as it
was based on the right of women not to suffer abuse, discrimination, and violence in
their respective relationship

Important features of the law include:

1. Four kinds of violence against women and children are defined-the law
defined the four kinds of violence-physical, psychological, sexual, and
 economic-in its effort to encompass all types of abuse inflected to the 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 abuse, violence, or discrimination can file a complaint;
3. Protection orders can be issued against the perpetrated- 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 or reported cases of VAWC immediately.

Search the internet for a copy of R.A 9262. Examine its provisions and answer the
following
1. Provide the instances of physical, psychological, sexual, and abuses as
provided for by the law.
Kind of Violence Instances

Physical

Psychological

Sexual

Economic

2. Name the persons who can file the complaint of VAWC aside from the victim-
survivor.
__ The parents or guardians of the offended party. The ascendants,
descendants or collateral relatives within the fourth civil degree of
consanguinity or affinity. Officers or social workers of the DSWD or social
workers of local government units
 (LGUs)________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
_______

Protection Orders
A protection under the anti-VAWC law is defined as:
“… an order is issued… for the purpose of preventing further acts of violence
against a woman and her child specified in section of these 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
protection order.
1. Prohibition of the respondent (perpetrator) the threatening to commit or
committing personally or through another, any of the acts penalized by the anti-
VAWC law;
2. Prohibition of the respondent from harassing, annoying, telephoning, contracting,
or otherwise, communicating with the petitioner (victim-survivor) directly or
indirectly;
3. Removal and exclusion of the respondent form the residence of the petitioner
whether temporarily or permanently;
4. Directing the respondent stay away from the petitioner and any designate family
or household member at a distance specified by the count;
5. Directing lawful possession and used by the petitioner and any designated family
or household member at a distance specified by the count;
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 and same, including revocation of
license and disqualification to apply for any license to use or possess a firearm;
9. Restitution for actual damage caused by violence 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 and petitioner.

Rights of Victim-Survivor of VAWC Cases

RA 9262 specified the following as rights of victim-survivor:

“Section35. Rightof 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 or any public legal assistance office;
(c) To be entitled to support services from the DSWD and the LGU’s (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 9262 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 IAN-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, Philippines National Police, Department of Health,
Department of Education, Department of Labor and Employment, and National Bureau
of Investigation.
The implementing rules and regulation of the anti-VAWC Act state the following
duties and responsibilities of LGU’s or the Barangay in addressing VAWC cases, apart
from the issuances of Barangay Protection Orders:
“Section47. 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 no 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 and organizing efforts and development program 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.

The roles of the National and Local Government Units are valuable in the
implementation of the VAWC Act. You will realize whether the specific Barangay
interviewed was fulfilling its duties in accordance to law.

ACTUAL CASES
The Supreme Court of the Philippines ruled on several caces involving violations
of the Anti-VAWC Act or RA 9262.
CASE I(Dinamlingvs CA, GR 199522, June 22, 2015)
Ricky Dinamling, a policeman, was a five-year relationship with AAA. They had
two common children, aged four and two. One night, he went to AAA’s boarding house
with a friend after a drinking session. As AAA was putting the children to bed, he
started to evict her for the reason that she was using the place as a “whore house”
wherein she “brought her partners.” She did not want to leave, but the threw a baby’s
feeding bottle outside. She went to BBB’s house and requested to fetch her children.
However, Dinamling already left the boarding house with the older child and only the
baby was left.

In the past, he would hit AAA’s head, pull her hair, and kick her. When AAA went
to the police, she was merely told that it was a family problem that could be talked over.
Six (6) days after the incident, AAA was at CCC’s house when Dinamling
arrived. He shouted and counted down for AAA to come out. When she came out,
Dinamling punched her at the left ear, which subsequently bled. When AAA asked him
why he kept on following her when she had left him, Dinamling shouted her family
name and told her she was “good-for-nothing.” AAA left for the barangay captain’s
house, but Dinamling caught up with her and kicked her until she fell to the ground. On
the road, Dinamling pulled down AAA’s pants and panty ad shouted at her while people
looked on. Dinalingthen,threw the pants and panty back at AAA and shourted her family
name. Dinamling, then intoxicated, left on a motorcycle. AAA stayed at her friend’s
home until she felt some back pain in the next morning. She found out she was
bleeding and about to miscarry so she was immediately brought to the hospital. There,
she was told that she was 19 weeks pregnant and had an incomplete abortion. She
was hospitalized for four days. Dinamling visited her but showed no remorse over his
acts. Dinamling was charged fpr violations RA No. 9262.

1. Assess the above case and identify the perpetrator, victim-survivor, acts
committed, kind of violence, and section of the law violated.
Perpetrator

Victim-survivor

Acts committed

Kind of violence

Sections of the law violated