Gabriela alarmed by rising violence vs women, children
Women’s group Gabriela on Sunday expressed concern over the “relentless and horrifying escalation of violence against women and children across the Philippines,” citing recent news reports about crimes committed against two of the country’s most vulnerable groups.
According to Gabriela, these cases showed the government’s failure to uphold and protect the rights of women and children as it expressed its support for the victims, asking them to come forward and seek justice.
The group pointed in particular to two reported cases of violence against women, one of whom was shot and killed by her live-in partner in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, while another one was stabbed dead by her husband in San Jose, Batangas.
Gabriela also noted two cases of sexual abuse against minors—a 13-year-old girl allegedly raped by her stepfather in Pasig City and a 15-year-old allegedly molested by a 38-year-old man in Makati City.
The group also cited reports about a police officer accused of abusing a woman in Manila and about AI or artificial intelligence being used to generate “deepfakes” that exploit and harass women and children.
‘Society in crisis’
For Gabriela secretary general Clarice Palce, the cases of violence and sexual abuse result from a “rotten system that devalues women and children [and] normalizes misogyny” while allowing “impunity to flourish.”
“[V]iolence against women and children persists because the state lacks the political will to uproot its causes and deliver immediate justice—if not acting as the perpetrator itself,” she said.
“To anyone experiencing or suffer[ing] from abuse, you are not alone. There is a community of survivors and staunch women’s advocates out here who are fighting the good fight—who believe that empowering, organizing, and mobilizing women are the key to changing the system that breeds violence against [them]. Come forward and join the fight,” Palce said.
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