REPUBLIC Act 9262 is a law passed in 2004 to combat violence against women and their children (VAWC).
“Violence” does not refer solely to the infliction of physical harm. It can refer to sexual violence, psychological violence, and economic abuse.
This law recognizes the vulnerability of women and their children who are caught in an abusive relationship.
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Who are the victims protected by this law?
The law protects the wife, the ex-wife, the woman who is not the wife but someone with whom the offender has or had sexual relations, the woman with whom the offender has a common child, the child of the woman (can be marital or non-marital) regardless of whether the child is living in the family home.
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What remedies can an offended party avail of under this law?
The VAWC law penalizes the offender with a fine or imprisonment. The victim can file a criminal complaint against him.
The victim can also apply for a protection order. This is intended to prevent further acts of violence against women or their children. The order can be issued by a family court and implemented by law enforcement agencies.
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What are the acts of violence penalized under the VAWC act?
Examples abound. Aside from the actual infliction of physical injuries, any attempt or threat to do it is also punished under this law.
Declining financial support to the woman or her children despite their legal entitlement thereto can also qualify as acts of violence. Even the mere threat to decline support falls under this category of violence.
Economic and psychological violence may take the form of preventing the woman from engaging in a legitimate profession or business. Sole control of conjugal assets can also qualify as violence against women and their children.
Public ridicule also causes emotional distress. Reckless conduct that causes emotional distress is classified as psychological violence.
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Since the intent is to primarily protect women and their children, may a woman nonetheless be an offender and can be prosecuted?
The Supreme Court recently issued a ruling that favored a man who brought a suit for VAWC violation against a woman who abused her child.
The man filed the case on behalf of his child against his estranged wife who engaged in extra-marital affairs and inflicted physical harm on the child.
The trial court dismissed the complaint on the ground that the protection and custody reliefs provided in the law cannot be issued against a mother who allegedly abused her own child.
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The Supreme Court reversed the decision because error was committed in dismissing the complaint on the ground that the complainant is a man. The Supreme Court said that the petition is principally and directly for the protection of the minor child not the father.
According to the Court, the law criminalizes acts of violence against women and their children perpetrated by women’s intimate partners. These are the husband, former husband, or any person who has or had sexual or dating relationship with the woman, or with whom the woman has a common child.
However, the law does not single out the husband or father as the culprit. The law uses the gender-neutral word “person” which can refer to any person of either sex. The offender may also include other persons who conspired to commit the violence./PN
