Q. Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act (RA 9262, Secs. 3–6 and 24–27)

E. Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act of 2004

(R.A. No. 9262, secs. 3, 5, 8-16 and 24-27)

ANTI-VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND THEIR CHILDREN ACT OF 2004 (R.A. NO. 9262)

Violence against women and their children

It refers to 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, within 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. It includes, but is not limited to, the following acts:

• Physical Violence

Physical violence refers to acts that include bodily or physical harm;

• Sexual Violence

Sexual violence refers to an act which is sexual in nature, committed against a woman or her child. It includes, but is not limited to:

• rape, sexual harassment, acts of lasciviousness, treating a woman or her child as a sex object, making demeaning and sexually suggestive remarks, physically attacking the sexual parts of the victim’s body, forcing her/him to watch obscene publications and indecent shows or forcing the woman or her child to do indecent acts and/or make films thereof, forcing the wife and mistress/lover to live in the conjugal home or sleep together in the same room with the abuser;
• acts causing or attempting to cause the victim to engage in any sexual activity by force, threat of force, physical or other harm or threat of physical or other harm or coercion
• Prostituting the woman or child.
• Psychological Violence

Psychological violence refers to acts or omissions causing or likely to cause mental or emotional suffering of the victim such as but not limited to intimidation, harassment, stalking, damage to property, public ridicule or humiliation, repeated verbal abuse and marital infidelity.

It includes causing or allowing the victim to witness the physical, sexual or psychological abuse of a member of the family to which the victim belongs, or to witness pornography in any form or to witness abusive injury to pets or to unlawful or unwanted deprivation of the right to custody and/or visitation of common children.

• Economic abuse

Economic abuse refers to acts that make or attempt to make a woman financially dependent which includes, but is not limited to the following:

• Withdrawal of financial support or preventing the victim from engaging in any legitimate profession, occupation, business or activity, except in cases wherein the other spouse/partner objects on valid, serious and moral grounds as defined in Article 73 of the Family Code;
• Deprivation or threat of deprivation of financial resources and the right to the use and enjoyment of the conjugal, community or property owned in common;
• Destroying household property; or
• Controlling the victims’ own money or properties or solely controlling the conjugal money or properties.

Battery

It refers to an act of inflicting physical harm upon the woman or her child resulting to the physical and psychological or emotional distress.

Battered woman syndrome

It refers to a scientifically defined pattern of psychological and behavioral symptoms found in women living in battering relationships as a result of cumulative abuse.

Stalking

It refers to an intentional act committed by a person who, knowingly and without lawful justification follows the woman or her child or places the woman or her child under surveillance directly or indirectly or a combination thereof.

What are punishable acts under R.A. No. 9262

The crime of violence against women and their children is committed through any of the following acts:

• Causing physical harm to the woman or her child;
• Threatening to cause the woman or her child physical harm;
• Attempting to cause the woman or her child physical harm;
• Placing the woman or her child in fear of imminent physical harm;
• Attempting to compel or compelling the woman or her child to engage in conduct which the woman or her child has the right to desist from or desist from conduct which the woman or her child has the right to engage in, or attempting to restrict or restricting the woman’s or her child’s freedom of movement or conduct by force or threat of force, physical or other harm or threat of physical or other harm, or intimidation directed against the woman or child. This shall include, but not limited to, the following acts committed with the purpose or effect of controlling or restricting the woman’s or her child’s movement or conduct:
• Threatening to deprive or actually depriving the woman or her child of custody to her/his family;
• Depriving or threatening to deprive the woman or her children of financial support legally due her or her family, or deliberately providing the woman’s children insufficient financial support;
• Depriving or threatening to deprive the woman or her child of a legal right;
• Preventing the woman in engaging in any legitimate profession, occupation, business or activity or controlling the victim’s own money or properties, or solely controlling the conjugal or common money, or properties;
• Inflicting or threatening to inflict physical harm on oneself for the purpose of controlling her actions or decisions;
• Causing or attempting to cause the woman or her child to engage in any sexual activity which does not constitute rape, by force or threat of force, physical harm, or through intimidation directed against the woman or her child or her/his immediate family;
• Engaging in purposeful, knowing, or reckless conduct, personally or through another, that alarms or causes substantial emotional or psychological distress to the woman or her child. This shall include, but not be limited to, the following acts:
• Stalking or following the woman or her child in public or private places;
• Peering in the window or lingering outside the residence of the woman or her child;
• Entering or remaining in the dwelling or on the property of the woman or her child against her/his will;
• Destroying the property and personal belongings or inflicting harm to animals or pets of the woman or her child; and
• Engaging in any form of harassment or violence;
• Causing mental or emotional anguish, public ridicule or humiliation to the woman or her child, including, but not limited to, repeated verbal and emotional abuse, and denial of financial support or custody of minor children or access to the woman’s child/children. (Sec. 5)

Cycle of Violence

• Tension building phase;
• Acute battering incident; and
• Tranquil, loving phase (non-violent phase). (People v. Genosa, G.R. No. 1395981, 2004) Verify the citation against People v. Genosa, G.R. No. 135981, January 15, 2004.

Characteristics of the Syndrome

• The woman believes that the violence was her fault;
• She has an inability to place the responsibility for the violence elsewhere;
• She fears for her life and/or her children’s life; and
• She has an irrational belief that the abuser is omnipresent and omniscient.

Applicable to Lesbian Relationships

Women may be held liable under the law for lesbian relationships. (Barangay Protection Order RA 9262: A Primer. Department of Interior and Local Government, National Barangay Operations Office, 2004.)

Applicable to violence committed against women in illicit relationship

Women in illicit relationship are entitled to protection under the Anti-VAWC Law because the law does not make any distinction. (Cabanez vs. AAA, G.R. No. 187175)

The mother has a personality to file a BPO on behalf of her child, except when her child already files one.

A mother may petition for a protection order on behalf of her child, subject to the rule concerning a petition filed by the offended party herself.

Facts: AA filed a Complaint-Affidavit against X for slight physical injuries. Subsequently, filed an Amended Complaint-Affidavit to include maltreatment in relation to the Anti-VAWC Law as a ground. The Assistant Prosecutor dismissed because she failed to substantiate her allegations. BB (mother of AA) filed in the lower court for AA’s benefit, praying for the issuance of a Temporary Protection Order or Permanent Protection Order under the Anti-VAWC Law. BB added that she had been aware of her daughter's ordeal and that her daughter was admitted to St. Agnes General Hospital for injuries borne by X‘s alleged acts of violence. X filed Omnibus Motions praying for the dismissal of BB's petition alleging that he did not personally received it. However, the court dismissed his claim for the reason that substituted summons suffice because he is out of the country. Did BB engage in forum shopping by filing a petition for the issuance of a protection order after a criminal complaint under the Anti-VAWC Law was dismissed by the prosecutor?

Ruling: In denying petitioner's Omnibus Motion, Judge CC ruled that BB had personality under Section 9(b) of the Anti-VAWC Law to file a petition for the issuance of a protection order.

The mother of a victim of acts of violence against women and their children is expressly given personality to file a petition for the issuance of a protection order by Section 9(b) of the Anti-VAWC Law. However, the right of a mother and of other persons mentioned in Section 9 to file such a petition is suspended when the victim has filed a petition for herself. Nevertheless, in this case, respondent BB filed her petition after her daughter's complaint-affidavit had already been dismissed. (Pavlow v. Mendenilla, G.R. No. 181489, April 19, 2017)

Act of violence need not be a consequence of sexual or dating relationship

While it is required that the offender has or had a sexual or dating relationship with the offended woman, for RA 9262 to be applicable, it is not indispensable that the act of violence be a consequence of such relationship. It is immaterial whether the relationship had ceased for as long as there is sufficient evidence showing the past or present existence of such relationship between the offender and the victim when the physical harm was committed. (Dabalos v. RTC, G.R. No. 193960, 2013)

A Philippine Court can validly take jurisdiction of the case if one of the material elements of the crime occurred in the Philippines.

The law contemplates that acts of violence against women and their children may manifest as transitory or continuing crimes; meaning that some acts material and essential thereto and requisite in their consummation occur in one municipality or territory, while some occur in another. In such cases, the court wherein any of the crime's essential and material acts have been committed maintains jurisdiction to try the case; it being understood that the first court taking cognizance of the same excludes the other. Thus, a person charged with a continuing or transitory crime may be validly tried in any municipality or territory where the offense was in part committed.

It is necessary, for Philippine courts to have jurisdiction when the abusive conduct or act of violence under Section 5 (i) of R.A. No. 9262 in relation to Section 3 (a), Paragraph (C) was committed outside Philippine territory, that the victim be a resident of the place where the complaint is filed in view of the anguish suffered being a material element of the offense.(AAA v. BBB, G.R. No. 212448, 2018)

BATTERED WOMAN SYNDROME AS A DEFENSE (R.A. 9262: Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004)

Battered woman – One who is repeatedly subjected to any forceful physical or psychological behavior by a man in order to coerce her to do something he wants her to do without concern for her rights. Includes wives or women in any form of intimate relationship with men. Must go through the battering “cycle of violence” at least TWICE.