Women's Day can be traced back to the early 20th century when women around the world began to advocate for better working conditions, suffrage, and gender equality. In 1908, 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter hours, better pay, and voting rights. This event marked the first National Women's Day in the United States.
In the Philippines, R.A. 6949 s. 1990, “An Act to Declare March Eight of Every Year as a Working Special Holiday to be known as National Women’s Day” was signed by President Aquino on April 10, 1990. The law further strengthened the impetus for the celebration by declaring every March 8 as a special working holiday and enjoining employees from the government and private sector to participate in activities conducted by their offices.
However, to date, women and girls continue to suffer from different forms of gender based discrimination. Republic Act 9262 or the Philippines Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act of 2004, was passed to uphold the dignity of women and their guaranteed human rights. It recognizes that violence against women (VAW) appears as one of the country’s pervasive social problems.
According to said law, VAW is “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.”
These acts includes: Physical violence or the act that includes bodily 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 is 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.
The violence inflicted on women gives a toll not only on their physical and reproductive health but especially on their mental and emotional state. It has caused women to feel ashamed and lose their self-esteem. The law put in place a mechanism in the community, to protect women who become victims of this kind of violence.
In celebration of the International Women's Day, we are featuring an educational Powerpoint file on VAWC. Feel free to contact us for a presentation or consultation.