CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter includes the review of related literature and studies which the

researchers perused to provide clearer understanding of information that are

relevant and similar to the present study.

RELATED LITERATURE

As the Violence against Women constantly increased in the Philippines,

women tend to rely on government actions and support. Being a growing

concern, it has become the focus of society's interest because of the dangers

currently posed to individuals. At every arena of public life, implementing

agencies ensures public security through programs and activities, so that health

and normal life is always maintained.

Thus, this study focuses its discussion in the related literature on the

assessment of the actions and program implemented by different barangays in

Batangas City in order to prevent violence against women. It will also discuss

ordinances promoting self-defense workshops and seminars for the public safety

of women in Batangas City, violence faced by women as well as crime rate and

factors resulted by this assaults.

LEGAL FRAMEWORK

The Philippine Constitution provides that “The States values the dignity of

each person and guarantees full respect for human rights” expressively in Article
II, Section 11. It additionally guarantees one and all the proper to life, security of

person and privacy, right to be free from torture, discretionary arrest and

detention, the proper to be free from discrimination and therefore the right to

freedom of expression, and therefore the right to arrange associations. (Article III

Section 1, 2, 4, 8 and 12)

Section 3 of Republic Act 9710 otherwise known as the Magna Carta of

Women (MCW) provides that “All individuals are equal as human beings by virtue

of the inherent dignity of each human person. No one should therefore suffer

discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, gender, age, language, sexual

orientation, race, color, religion, political or other opinion, national, social or

geographical origin, disability, property, birth, or other status as established by

human rights standards. Magna Carta for Women on "Protection from Violence"

Section 9 states that the State shall ensure that all women shall be protected

from all forms of violence as provided for in existing laws. As an act upholding a

strong security for women against violence and abuses on gender inequality, it

prioritizes into the defense and protection of women against gender-based

offenses and help women attains justice and healing.

Moreover, Section 9 mandates women to have an incremental increase in

the recruitment and training of women in the police force forensics and medico-

legal services, and social work services availed of by women who were victims of

gender-related offenses until 50 percent (50%) of the personnel thereof shall be

women. Also, women shall have the right to protection and security in situations

of armed conflict and militarization. Towards this end, they shall be protected
from all forms of gender-based violence particularly rape and other forms of

sexual abuse, and all forms of violence in situations of armed conflicts. The state

shall comply with international standards for the protection of civilians in

emergency and armed conflict circumstances..

However, Rule IV of the Rules and Regulations Implementing the Magna

Carta of women provides establishment of violence against Women (VAW) desk

in every barangay to ensure that violence against women cases are fully

addressed in a gender-responsive manner. (Joint Memorandum Circular No.

2010-2)

In addition, Anti-Discrimination Ordinances that prohibit discrimination

based on sexual orientation and gender identity have been enacted in nineteen

(19) LGUs, namely: Barangays Bagbag, Lagro and Pansol in Quezon City,

Angeles City in Pampanga, Antipolo City, Bacolod City in Negros Occidental,

Batangas City in Batangas, Candon City in Ilocos Sur, Cebu City, Dagupan City

in Pangasinan, Davao City, Mandaue City, Puerto Princesa, Quezon City, Vigan

City in Ilocos Sur, Municipality of San Julian in Eastern Samar, Province of

Agusan del Norte, Province of Cavite. Sur, Cebu City, Dagupan City in

Pangasinan, Davao City, Mandaue City, Puerto Princesa, Quezon City, Vigan

City in Ilocos Sur, Municipality of San Julian in Eastern Samar, Province of

Agusan del Norte, Province of Batangas and Province of Cavite.

Moreover, the punong barangay shall designate a VAW Desk person who

is trained in gender-sensitive handling of cases; preferably a woman barangay

kagawad or woman barangay tanod. Functions of the Barangay VAW desk is

further explained and shall perform the following tasks :( 1) respond to gender-

based violence cases brought to the barangay. (2) Record the number of gender-

based violence handled by the barangay and submits quarterly report on all

cases of VAW to the DILG City/Municipal Field Office and the City/ Municipal

Social Welfare Development Office (C/MSWDO). (3) keep VAW case records

confidential and secured, and ensure that only authorized personnel can access

it.(4) assist victims of VAW in securing Barangay Protection Order (BPO) and

access necessary services.(5) develop the barangay gender-responsive plan in

addressing gender-based violence, including support services, capacity building

and referral system. (6) Coordinate with and refer cases to government agencies,

non-government organization (NGOs) institutions, and other service providers as

necessary. (7) Address other forms of abuse committed against women,

especially senior citizens, women with disabilities, and other marginalized

groups. (8) Lead advocacies on the elimination of VAW in the community. (9)

Perform other related functions as may be assigned. All government personnel

involved in the protection and defense of women against gender-based violence

shall undergo a mandatory training on human rights and gender sensitivity.

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

The term violence against women describes a wide range of acts,

including murder, rape and sexual assault, physical assault, emotional abuse,

beating, stalking, prostitution, genital mutilation, sexual harassment and

pornography. In the field that is still evolving, there is little consensus on the
exact definition of violence against women. The main contention is whether the

word ' violence' should be strictly defined or whether the phrase ' violence against

women' should generally be seen as an aggressive behavior that adversely and

disproportionately affects women.

Sociology and criminology researchers tend to prefer definitions that

narrowly define violence, definitions that can be implemented. For example,

Gelles and Straus (1979) defined violence as “any act carried out with a view to

causing physical pain or injury to another person or with a perceived intention.”

Similarly, the National Research Council (NRC) report Understanding and

Preventing Violence (Reiss and Roth, 1993) limited its definition to "behavior by

persons against persons that intentionally threatens, attempts, or actually inflicts

physical harm." The 1993 NRC study deliberately excluded behavior that inflicts

harm unintentionally, while the Gelles and Straus definition includes behaviors

that may be unintentional but are perceived by the victim to be intentional.

In contrast to those definitions, researchers in such fields as psychology,

mental health, and social work frequently consider "violence" to cover a wider

range of behaviors. The Committee on Family Violence of the National Institute of

Mental Health (1992) included in its definition of violence "acts that are physically

and emotionally harmful or that carry the potential to cause physical harm …

[and] may also include sexual coercion or assaults, physical intimidation, threats

to kill or to harm, restraint of normal activities or freedom, and denial of access to

resources. The Task Force on Male Violence Against Women of the American

Psychological Association defined violence as ''physical, visual, verbal, or sexual

acts that are experienced by a woman or a girl as a threat, invasion, or assault

and that have the effect of hurting her or degrading her and/or taking away her

ability to control contact (intimate or otherwise) with another individual" (Koss et

al., 1994). Those who argue for these broader definitions suggest they more

accurately represent the experiences of victims, who often say they find verbal

and psychological abuse more harmful than actual physical abuse (Walker, 1979;

Follingstad et al., 1990; Herman, 1995). In the field of intimate partner violence or

battering, the problem of violence against women is frequently characterized as

one of coercive control that is maintained by tactics such as physical violence,

psychological abuse, sexual violence, and denial of resources. The concern is

about the multitude of behaviors used to dominate women. Physical violence

does not often need to be used to be effective: “In fact, abusers may regret

resorting to violence, but may feel ' driven' when their other methods of enforcing

subordination are insufficient “(Herman, 1995, p. 2). Fear is a key factor in the

field of rape; it is a major concern of many women (Warr, 1985; Gordon and

Riger, 1989; Klodawsky and Lundy, 1994). Although women are the victims of

violent crime less often than men, women are more afraid of crime (Federal

Office of Investigation, 1991) and this fear seems to be largely based on their

fear of fear of rape (Riger et al., 1981). Many feminist theorists contend that this

fear of rape serves to intimidate and control all women (Griffin, 1971;

Brownmiller, 1975; Dworkin, 1991).

In the broadest sense, violence against women is any violation of a

woman's personhood, mental or physical integrity, or freedom of movement

through individual acts and societal oppression. It covers all ways women are

oppressed and targeted by our society. Violence against women ranges from

sterilization abuse, pornography, stalking, battering and rape. It includes girls '

sexual and physical abuse and elder abuse. (Collective Boston Women's Heath

Book, 1998)

Every form of violence threatens every woman and limits her ability to

make life choices. Sexual violence is particularly insidious because sexual acts

are ordinarily and rightly a source of pleasure and communication. It is often

unclear to a victimized woman and to society as a whole whether sexual abuse

was committed out of sexual desire or through violent intent or whether these

motivations can even be distinguished, because violence itself is seen as sexual

or erotic. (Collective Boston Women's Heath Book, 1998)

Women are more likely to be victimized by male offenders than by female

offenders; about three-quarters of violent crimes against women are committed

by males (Bachman, 1994).Violence was the most common cause of injury to

women aged 15 to 44 in one urban emergency room and the second most

common cause of injury to all women. (Grisso et al., 1991). Lastly, women are

more likely than men to be sexually assaulted. The NCVS found that women

were 10 times more likely to be raped or sexually assaulted than men (Bastian,

1995). It is estimated that the annual rape rate is 7.1 per 1,000 adult women, and

sometime during their lives 13 percent of all women will experience forcible rape.

(Kilpatrick et al., 1994)

 In spite of the attention that has been paid to violence against women in

recent years, the research endeavor is relatively young, and much remains

unknown. Actually, there is no area focused on violence against women. Studies

on rape and sexual assault, for example, are separate from those on intimate

partner violence, which is different from the nascent stalking study. And all this

research on violence in general is different. Many of the studies on violence

against women in this newly emerging field are at an early stage of scientific

research. The methodological weaknesses in battering and rape research have

been extensively discussed in other papers (Rosenbaum, 1988; Gelles, 1990;

Koss, 1992, 1993; Rosenfeld, 1992; Smith, 1994). Definitions differ from study to

study, comparisons and weak deeds to eliminate these types of misery.

SELF-DEFENSE

Instruction on self - defense is defined as " preparation to minimize the

possibility of assault; it is training to learn and use a small group of simple

effective physical actions. If there is no alternative, learning to defend oneself is

mainly the process of learning how to avoid becoming a victim. (Cummings, p.

183, 199)

Moreover, advocates of self-defense for women believe that the

development of particular physical and mental skills will strengthen woman’s

physical capacities, support woman’s independence, and increase women’s

mobility and, ultimately, move women from a culturally conditioned passivity to

being non-passive, powerful individuals. (Cummings, 1992, p.184)

 However, women's self-defense courses serve as new reference groups

that provide women with a more empowering perspective. According to Shibutani

(1995), “a reference group is a standard or checkpoint used by an actor in the

formulation of his assessment of the situation, in particular his own position.”

The main features of a self - defense class that fosters group development

and cohesion include opportunities to share narratives and mutual perspectives.

(Fraser and Russell, 2000; Steveson, 2006)

There is some evidence that teaching women self - defense strategies like

hitting, punching, kicking and screaming to attract help can reduce victimization

and increase individual self - efficiency (Anderson and Wiston,2005;Sochting,

Fairbrother and Koch, 2004). However, Robertson and Dickenson (2008)

suggest that while rape prevention and resistance may be a response for

individual women as a group, they can not be a solution for women because men

diluted by such tactics target women who have not been self - defense

trained(Dickinson et.al, 2010, p.24)

Furthermore, Women’s self-defense training aims to arm women with the

skills to avoid, interrupt, and resist assault. Early feminists of the second wave,

aware of the pervasiveness of violence against women and critical of the

reluctance of society to address it, took their safety literally into their own hands,

adapting martial arts techniques to suit women's needs ; adding verbal,

psychological and emotional skills ; and integrating critical gender awareness into

their training. (Telsey, 1981 cited by Hollander, 2016, p. 207).

 A woman's self - defense course, which includes both physical technique

and assertiveness or verbal limitation, teaches women to adjust their responses

to others in a way that protects and affirms their self - esteem, identity, and

emotions while respecting each other's identity and emotions.

There are "changes in women's interaction patterns with strangers in self-

learning–defense, even if they do not threaten violence." Self-defense training

thus literally trains women to defend themselves, not only physically and

sexually, but also psychologically and emotionally, and to enhance relationships

with others. (Hollander, 2004, p. 217)

PUBLIC SAFETY

As defined by the U.S. Legal Dictionary, public safety is expressed as a

responsibility of government as a welfare and protection of the general public.

Most states have departments of public security primarily aimed at preventing

hazards and protecting the public from crimes and disasters. The Public Safety

Division consists of people from other organizations, including police, emergency

medical services, fire force, etc., in different cases.

In addition, a high degree of social integration among peoples is achieved

by public security. It is a term that replaces social integration. It can be measured

indirectly, as in suicide, murder, rates of accidental death or violent attacks, but

these are not measures of social integration or connection density. This

integration is mobilized through a common emotional experience, supported by

celebration and drama, and imminently symbolized by practices of security and

security agencies. Encyclopedia of Police Science: set of 2 volumes)

Public security is a growing concern, according to Chris Cornell (2010),

due to the dangers currently facing individuals and society. He stressed that

public safety is important to ensure that health and normal life are maintained at

all times in the implementation of public safety measures. Each country has its

own safety maintenance regulations and rules.

UN Women's Global Flagship Initiative ' Safe Cities and Safe Public

Spaces ' builds on its Global Program ' Safe Cities Free from Violence Against

Women and Girls, ' launched in November 2010, with leading women's

organizations, organizations, UN agencies, and over 70 global and local

partners. It is the first global program ever to develop, implement and evaluate

tools, policies and comprehensive approaches around the world to prevent and

respond to sexual harassment and other forms of sexual violence against women

and girls. It started with the program of founding in Quito, Ecuador ; Cairo,

Egypt ; New Delhi, India ; Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea ; and Kigali,

Rwanda, and now spans over 20 cities.

The UN Women's Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces Global Initiative

continues to deliver a number of innovative results through partnerships with

offices of mayors, national governments, women's groups and other community

partners.
 In Cairo, the Ministry of Housing, Utilities and Urban Development of

Egypt has carried out women's security audits to guide urban planning, and more

than 100 youth change agents (50 percent young men and 50 percent young

women) have been involved and are leading transformative activities in schools

and other settings in the program's intervention sites to promote respectful

gender relationships, gender equality, and safety in public spaces.

Over the past twenty years, mayors and local governments have played a

significant role in the development of community security in Europe, North

America, Africa, and Australasia. The number of initiatives aimed at individuals,

minority groups and neighborhoods targeting crime, victimization and social

exclusion has increased.

The link between poverty and social disadvantage, crime and victimization

has shown that many agencies need to work together to prevent crime.

Community security has been seen by the majors and local governments as a

fundamental human right and an aspect of community quality of life. They were

able to mobilize local partnerships with key players — police, agencies,

organizations, and residents — to develop safe, secure, and lively communities

in large metropolitan areas and smaller towns and rural areas: (a) the shift from a

relatively narrow focus on crime prevention to a broader public good community

security and security issue (b) the development of consensus on the need to

work for community security by addressing the social and economic conditions

that promote crime and victimization (c) from the primary responsibility of the

police to the recognition that governments, communities and partnerships at all

levels must be actively involved (d) the recognition of the crucial role played by

local municipal leaders in this process through the organization and motivation of

local partners ' coalitions to create a healthy and safe communities (e) Increasing

evidence shows that intervention targeting risk factors can be effective and cost

effective in reducing crime and other social problems. (Shaw, 2014)

One of the underlying elements of good governance is an educated and

well-trained workforce of government. For this reason, the CSC is committed to

interventions that will improve government employees ' knowledge, skills and

expertise, particularly middle-level managers, and equip them with new ones

according to the principle that "the jobs of tomorrow can not be done with the

skills of yesterday." (Rosas, 2000)

There are many forms of violence against women. (A.) Domestic violence

is where a person tries to control and assert power over his or her partner in an

intimate relationship. Any woman in any house can be affected. Twenty-five

percent of all violent crimes reported involve a man attacking his wife or partner.

There is physical, emotional, financial and sexual abuse in domestic violence. (b)

Sexual assault and rape. Rape is considered the most underreported violent

crime and research at European level shows that only 2 to 10% of rape is

reported to the authorities. In 2011, there were 28, 615 helpline contacts to Rape

Crisis services, a 10% increase on 2010. Statistics for that year also show that

90 percent of perpetrators were known to the survivor when sexual assaults

occurred. (c) Prostitution and trafficking in which women suffered terrifying and

degrading treatment in this form of violence, and extreme levels of violence, such
as beatings, rape and sexual assault. The strong link between prostitution and

trafficking in sexual exploitation has been well documented. On average, it is

possible to sell 1000 women every day and the vast majority are migrant women

and girls. (D) Female Genital Mutilation is considered an act of violence against

women and children as it may cause irreparable harm to women's genitals and

reproductive organs. In at least 28 countries, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, it

is common practice. (E) Forced marriage in which women were deceived and

subjected to sexual and other forms of abuse by agents and prospective

spouses. (F) Sexual harassment occurs when the purpose or effect of unwanted

behavior is to violate the dignity of a person and to create an intimidating, hostile,

degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for the person. (Gender

violence–Highlighting the role of gender in analyzing and responding to gender–

issue of December 2013)

In The World Women's 2015 Journal Issue, violence against women can

lead to long-term physical, mental and emotional problems; in the most extreme

cases, violence against women can lead to death. Two-thirds of inmate partner /

family homicide victims are women, while in homicide cases only 20 percent of all

victims are women.

Victimization has many physical consequences. Some of these are direct

effects of abuse and/or sexual assault, such as traumatic injury, unwanted

pregnancy, complication of pregnancy, and sexually transmitted disease. Others,

such as gynecological symptoms, chronic pain syndromes, and gastrointestinal

problems, are consequences of traumatic stress effects, which can be influenced

by various mechanisms in physical health. Some of these mechanisms are based

on psychology, but many of them reflect physiological changes in emerging

literature. Such effects are particularly common among women suffering from

repeated or long-term victimization. Many of these after-violent repercussions last

several years. While the severity and duration of violence are important

determinants of the extent of physical consequences, multiple factors contribute

to any particular woman's physical response to violence. The many physical

sequences of violence are addressed by doctors and other healthcare

professionals, even if they do not identify them. In fact, women who have been

subjected to violence tend to seek medical attention rather than using mental

health, social services, clergy counseling, victim assistance or legal assistance.

As a result of this increased use, health care providers have numerous

opportunities to help women with trauma-related effects (Tjaden and Thoennes,

2010).

The government has set up facilities and programs in the Philippines

primarily to address the issue of VAW. In particular difficult circumstances, these

programs and facilities include temporary care and shelter for women, the Haven

crisis intervention unit of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

The Department of Health (DOH) institutionalizes the protection of women and

children in all its 39 national hospitals, now called the Women and Children

Protection Unit, each WCPU is based on a 24-hour rapid response approach that

provides survivors with personalized and comprehensive healthcare.

 DOH has developed a training program for WCPU doctors in collaboration

with the Unit for Child Protection and Women's Desk of the Philippine General

Hospital of the University of the Philippines that meets the needs of women and

children who survive violence. The training program also allows forensic doctors

to work in order to provide evidence and stand in court as expert witnesses.

Different agency programs also contribute to the general awareness of

rising government programs on issues related to violence against women. The

following is part of this initiative: (A) The Philippine Judicial Academy (PHILJA)

holds seminars on gender awareness for prosecutors and judges as well as the

five pillars of the judiciary. (B) "YOUTHSPEAK" organized by the National Youth

Commission to reach an agreement with media practitioners to develop a more

responsive media environment that reflects the visions and aspirations of young

people and supports their well-being. (D)non-governmental organizations should

be credited not only with raising violence against women as a public issue, but

with providing services even before the establishment of government systems.

(E) Women's Crisis Center (WCC), VAW's first victim / survivor crisis center,

launched its national family violence prevention program with 18 cities and

municipalities throughout the Philippines in 1997. It is a community-based

strategy to prepare family members to protect themselves from violence and to

manage peaceful conflict resolution within family relationships. (F) other women

NGOs leading the crusade against VAWC AR SALIGAN (legal group)

KALAKASAN (women against violence, NGO providing shelter and counseling)

and Women's Legal Office (legal group). (G) Various networks on violence
against women, such as women's trafficking coalitions, focus on the issue of

prostitution and local and international trafficking. (A Deeper Look at Woman's

Violence: the Filipino case).

VAW desk is a facility that is managed by a person designated by the

punong barangay to address VAW cases in a gender-responsive manner. It is

located in the barangay hall premises.