Economic abuse tops VAWC cases in Davao City
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 04 March) — Economic abuse is still the top cause of violence against women and children (VAWC) here, data from the city government’s Integrated Gender and Development Division (IGDD).
Republic Act 9262 or the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004 describes economic abuse as “acts that make or attempt to make a woman financially dependent upon her abuser.”
It includes, but is not limited to, preventing the woman from engaging in any legitimate profession, occupation, business or activity except in cases wherein the other spouse/partner objects on valid, serious and moral grounds as defined in Article 73 of the Family Code; controlling the woman’s own money or property; and solely controlling the conjugal or common money/properties.
In 2024, the IGDD, a special division created to oversee the full implementation of the city’s Women Development Code, recorded 976 economic abuse cases, psychological/economic abuse at 851, physical abuse at 469 and sexual abuse at 90, or a total of 2,386 cases.
The previous year, there were 1,439 cases of economic abuse, psychological/emotional abuse at 755, physical abuse at 463 and 50 cases of sexual abuse, or a total of 2,707 cases.
IGDD head Lorna Mandin said at the sidelines of Kapehan sa Dabaw press conference on Monday that economic abuse cases mostly involved women who do not have work or stopped working.
The VAWC cases were higher in 2023 than last year.
Despite the decline in VAWC cases, Jeanette Ampog, Talikala Foundation executive director, said it is still worrisome as there are women who were kicked out of their homes, which might not have been reported due to fear and anxiety.
Ampog said that the possible unrecorded abuses can be attributed more to the mindset of other people, regardless of gender, who treated women poorly.
She said that from January to February this year, “more women are reportedly being vulnerable to sexual abuse, incest, and domestic violence from their boyfriends, ex-boyfriends, or even immediate family members,” but she could not give exact figures.
“If you look at the situation, we have to accept that in Davao, women are being “treated miserably,” even though there are positive policies and programs. Because it’s beyond the law, it’s beyond policy, it’s beyond programs… it’s on the people’s mindset on women,” Ampog said. (Ian Carl Espinosa / MindaNews)
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