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Friday, March 29, 2024

Worthy of emulation

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Local government units would do well to take a page from Quezon City’s playbook on how to handle cases of violence against women and children.

Worthy of emulation

This week, the Quezon City government launched the country’s first unified database of violence against women and children (VAWC) cases reported in barangays, city hall and VAWC desks in police stations to track and hasten the processing of gender-based violence cases in the city.

The database, the city government says, will be used by VAWC desk officers in the city’s 142 villages barangays, police stations, and Gender and Development (GAD) Council.

The move is a timely one.

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In September, Quezon City Police District (QCPD) reported a 66.67 percent increase in VAWC cases and 21.54 percent rise in rape cases for the first eight months of the year, compared to the same period in 2020. QC Police District Director Gen. Antonio Yarra said most of the cases involved physical and psychological abuses.

In a report presented during the recent Peace and Order Council meeting, Yarra said 158 rape cases were reported from January to August this year, compared to 130 cases during the same period in 2020.

QCPD records also showed 87 VAWC cases from January to August 2021 compared to 58 cases for the same period last year.

He noted the COVID-19 pandemic played a significant role in the spike in cases as most families were stuck at home under lockdown, increasing the likelihood of domestic conflict and the risks for women to suffer abuse.

The problem, of course, isn’t limited to Quezon City.

Gender-based violence is affecting 2.5 million women in the Philippines, an official of USAID said in October.

“Though the quarantine is needed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the country and the world, it carries the risks of increased gender-based violence,” Michelle Lang-Alli, USAID Philippine Office of Health Director, said during an online seminar to raise awareness of all forms of gender-based violence.

At the same forum, Deputy Executive Director Lolito Tacardon of the Commission on Population and Development said “gender-based violence is the worst impact of this pandemic” but with proper intervention, it can be addressed.

“We encourage the people to report gender-based cases,” he said, adding that the weak and the vulnerable should realize that they have the power to fight against abuses and gender-based violence.

Local government units, as the Quezon City VAWC database initiative shows, can play a significant role in bolstering this power. It is a program worthy of emulation.

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