VAWC TALKS. Maj. Joann Navarro (left), spokesperson of Police Regional Office-10, and Daisy Ramos, Sectoral Unit Head of Department of Social Welfare and Development in Northern Mindanao, discuss cases on Violence Against Women and Children on Monday (Nov. 28, 2022) during a media forum in Cagayan de Oro City. Navarro notes a decrease in VAWC cases in Region 10 this year. (PNA photo by Nef Luczon)
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY - Cases on Violence against Women and Children (VAWC) in Northern Mindanao region has reduced for a one-year period, police said Monday.
In a media forum, Maj. Joanna Navarro, Police Regional Office-10 spokesperson, said VAWC cases handled by police stations and filed in courts from Jan. 1 to Nov. 24 this year stood at 678.
In 2021 of the same period, the VAWC cases filed were 751.
"In our analysis, it's possible that our anti-VAWC efforts and interventions have an effect which was done not only the police but by other government agencies," Navarro said.
Navarro said the community through VAWC desks in villages may have also played a significant role in the decline of cases.
VAWC cases mostly includes violations under Republic Act 9262 or the Anti-violence Against Women and Children Act of 2014.
Daisy Ramos, sectoral unit head of the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Region 10, said most VAWC the agency handled are from "low-income" profiles.
However, it does not mean there are less VAWC cases from the "high-income" profiles, she said.
"Some may have sought already with their lawyers, or are not ready to report because of the high status they're in (and the consequences it may affect)," she said.
In handling women under VAWC cases, Ramos said most of them are facing uncertainties of their daily economic condition especially for those living where the man is the only provider in the household.
But Ramos said incidence of VAWC in houses should not be tolerated longer, especially when there are children exposed who may carry the violent tendencies when they grow up. (PNA)
