http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/246811/domestic-violence-remains-pervasive-rights-group

Parental Alienation Theory (PAS)

By ELLALYN B. DE VERA

March 8, 2010, 4:27pm

An international human rights group Monday deplored the persistent cases of domestic violence among women despite the existence of a law that criminalizes violence against Filipino women and children.

Amnesty International Philippines section director Dr. Aurora Parong said victims of rape, sexual, and domestic violence worldwide are continuously denied access to justice due to gender discrimination and assumptions about the sexual behavior of victims of rape.

She pointed out that domestic violence in the Philippines remains pervasive despite the passage in 2004 of the Anti-Violence against Women and Children Act (Anti-VAWVC) or the Republic Act 9262.

“Stories of women who courageously broke their silence about domestic violence show that protection by government from violence of husbands or other intimate partners have not completely eradicated traumatic experiences in the family,” she said.

A report titled “Breaking the Silence, Seeking Justice in Intimate Partner Violence in the Philippines” was recently launched by Amnesty International Philippines together with the Women Working Together to Stop Violence against Women Network, which reviewed the implementation of RA 9262.

“The law is considered as a significant victory for women because many of its provisions are based on the inalienable right of women not to suffer discrimination and violence most especially within an intimate relationship,” Parong said.

However, she said, “Protection of women’s rights does not end with the enactment of a law. It needs a follow through in implementation. Six years later after the birth of RA 9262, we see many loopholes in the implementation.”

In commemoration of the International Women’s Day yesterday, members of Amnesty International Philippines joined the march from España to Mendiola, Manila calling for the stop of violence against women in all its forms.

In the AI report, six recommendations for the six years of failure in implementation of RA 9262 were outlined.

It urged the legislative body to amend RA 9262 to allow the renewal of the Barangay Protection Order (BPO), which they said is the most accessible protection for women victim and children victims of violence.

It also included recommendations for the local government units (LGU), the courts and the Commission on Human Rights to diligently do their share for the full implementation of RA 9262.

“We call on the Inter-Agency Council on Violence against Women and Children (IAC-VAWC) to comprehensively assess the effectiveness of all programs towards providing services to women and children victim-survivors.