ILOILO City – A future free from violence against women and girls – this is the ultimate goal of the 18-day campaign to end violence against women (VAW) that is annually observed from Nov. 25 to Dec. 12.
The Iloilo provincial government and the Department of Tourism (DOT) in Western Visayas are supporting the campaign and on Friday evening dramatized this by joining the worldwide “Orange Your Icon” movement. It enveloped Casa Real de Iloilo or the old provincial capitol building with orange lights.
Orange, which symbolizes hope, is the chosen color by the United Nations (UN) secretary general in line with its UNiTE to End VAW campaign – a multi-year effort aimed at preventing and eliminating violence against women and girls around the world.
VAW is one of the country’s pervasive social problems. According to the 2017 National Demographic and Health Survey conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority, one in four Filipino women age 15-49 has experienced physical, emotional or sexual violence by their husband or partner.
Republic Act 9262 or the Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act of 2004, defines VAW as “any act or a series of acts committed by any person against a woman who is his wife, former wife, or against a woman with whom the person has or had a sexual or dating relationship, or with whom he has a common child, or against her child whether legitimate or illegitimate, with or without the family abode, which result in or is likely to result in physical, sexual, psychological harm or suffering, or economic abuse including threats of such acts, battery, assault, coercion, harassment or arbitrary deprivation of liberty.”
Rara Ganzon, spokesperson of the Iloilo Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO), said the very first step to end the violence is to accept that any form of abuse does not equate to love, and the abuse should not be tolerated.
All women and girls deserve to be treated with utmost respect at home, at work, in school, and in the community, she stressed.
VAW includes, but not limited to, the following acts:
* Physical violence or the act that includes bodily or physical harm
* Sexual violence or the act that is sexual in nature, committed against a woman or her child
* Psychological violence or the act or omission that causes or likely to cause mental or emotional suffering of the victim
* Economic abuse or the act that makes or attempts to make a woman financially dependent
“I encourage all women to know their rights. Empower yourselves. Do not be afraid to speak up and report in case these rights are violated. There are people and services available to help you. You can put an end to VAW now,” said Ganzon who, aside from being a social worker, is also a VAWC advocate.
Provincial capitol employees are also encouraged to show their support to the campaign by wearing orange clothes every Friday, while the general public is urged to change their Facebook temporary profile frame with the “End VAW” campaign. She called it “Orange Fridays”.
Other activities of the provincial government include radio guesting of Gender and Development focal persons and advocates through Balita Halin sa Kapitolyo and “HIMBON: Kahilwayan sa VAW Symposium” for capitol employees and other sectors on Dec. 2, among others.
According to the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), the “Orange Your Icon” campaign endeavors to strengthen the anti-VAW advocacy by encouraging new audiences to participate in ending VAW.
The initiative enjoins government offices and private organizations nationwide to color their major landmarks or icons with orange from Nov. 25 to Dec. 12.
Pursuant to Proclamation 1172 s. 2006, Nov. 25 to Dec. 12 of every year is declared as the “18-Day Campaign to End VAW”.
Launched in 2015, this initiative aims to attract and spark the public’s curiosity which provides opportunities for advocates to explain and to declare their support to the anti-VAW advocacy. This will serve as a springboard for public discourse and for disseminating the message of zero tolerance for VAW./PN
