The Anti-Violence
Against Women & Their
Children Act of 2004
Salient Features
BY: WILLIAM S. VARELA
Dedicated to my wife Anne M. Varela as Founder of BIGKIS KABABAIHAN and to her co-
founder Mary Ann Pacio, Rose Evasco, Gemma Lapitan and Annabelle Layanan… Keep
up the good work as GOD said in …
Ephesians 2:10
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God
prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Types of Violence Punishable
under this Law
 PHYSICAL VIOLENCE
- Physical injuries
- Mutilation
 PSYCHOLOGICAL VIOLENCE- acts or omissions
causing or likely to cause mental or emotional
suffering, including:
- Stalking
- Damage or property
- Ridicule
- Repeated verbal abuse
- Depriving the woman of access to her family
- Marital infidelity

Types of Violence Punishable
under this Law
 SEXUAL VIOLENCE
- Forcing the woman to watch obscene
movies
- Forcing the woman to engage in any
sexual act

Types of Violence Punishable
under this Law
 ECONOMIC ABUSE – acts that make or
attempt to make a woman financially
dependent, including:
- withdrawal of financial support; preventing
her from engaging in a legitimate
profession,business or activity
- deprivation or threat of deprivation of
financial resources and the right to use
conjugal or community property

Def.: Violence Against Women
& their children (VAWC)
 any act or series of acts committed by
any PERSON (male or female)
 against a WOMAN who is his wife,
former wife, or with whom the person
has or had a sexual or dating
relationships, or
 with whom he has a common child, or
 against her child
 within or outside the residence

Def: VAWC
 Which result or 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

Who are protected
 Women and
 children of the abused woman

Who are liable
 Husband, ex-husband
 Boyfriend or ex
 Father of the woman’s child
 Lesbian girlfriends/partners or ex partners
 Any person with whom the woman
has/had a sexual or dating relationship

Statutory Construction
 Liberally construed to promote the
protection and safety of victims of
VAWC

Sec. 5 Acts of VAWC
 Causing, threatening, attempting to
cause physical harm to woman or her
child
 Placing the woman or her child in fear
of imminent physical harm
 Attempting or compelling the women or
her child to engage in conduct which
they have a right to desist from, or to
 desist from conduct which they have a
right to engage in

Sec. 5 Acts
 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,
 intimidation directed against the
woman or her child

Sec. 5 Acts
 Acts committed with the purpose or effect
of controlling or restricting the woman’s or
her child’s movement by:
(1) depriving or threatening to deprive
the woman or her child or custody or
access to her family
(2) depriving them of financial
support;insufficient financial support

Sec. 5 Acts
(3) Depriving or threatening to deprive
the woman or her child of a legal right
(4) Preventing the woman from
engaging in any legitimate profession,
occupation, business or activity, or
controlling the victim’s own money or
properties or solely controlling conjugal or
common money or properties

Sec. 5 Acts
 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, physical harm, intimidation directed
against the woman, her child, or immediate
family *

Sec. 5 Acts
 Engaging in knowing or reckless conduct, personally
or through another, that alarms or causes substantial
emotional or psychological distress to the woman or
her child, including:
(1) stalking
(2) peering in window; lingering outside the
residence
(3) entering or remaining in the house or
on the property of the woman or her
child
(4) destroying property and personal
belongings or causing harm to animals, pets
(5) engaging in any form of harassment or
violence *

Sec. 5 Acts
 Causing mental or emotional anguish, public
ridicule, humiliation including repeated verbal and
emotional abuse*
 denial of financial support or custody of minor
children or denial of access to the woman’s
child *
 * PRESCRIPTION PERIOD: 10 years. All others,
20 years

Sec. 6 Penalties
 Aggravating circumstance: if the woman
or child is pregnant or committed in the
presence of her child, the penalty shall be
the maximum of the period of penalty
 Imprisonment plus : fine of P100,000-
P300,000, and mandatory psychological
counseling or psychiatric treatment

Venue
 CRIMINAL ACTION:
- Family Court or if none,
- In the Regional Trial Court where the
crime or any of its elements was
committed,
- at the option of the complainant.
 PROTECTION ORDER : Family Court in the
residence of petitioner, if none, in the
RTC, MTC, MCTC

Protection Orders
 PROTECTION ORDER – to prevent further
acts of violence against a woman or her
child.
 To safeguard the victim from further
harm,minimizing disruption in victim’s daily
life, and give her the opportunity and ability
to regain control over her life.
 KINDS OF P.O. – Barangay Protection Order
- Temporary Protection Order
- Permanent Protection Order

Protection Orders
 Prohibition from threatening or committing,
personally or through another, any of acts in
Sec. 5
 Prohibition from harassing, telephoning,
contracting the petitioner
 Removal and exclusion from the residence
regardless of ownership, temporarily or
permanently where no property rights are
violated
 Stay away from petitioner, any designated
family or household member, from residence,
school, workplace, or specified place

Protection Orders
 Directing law enforcer to accompany petitioner
to the residence, ensure possession of
automobile and other personal effects; supervise
respondent’s removal of belongings
 Temporary or permanent custody of child
 Support: automatic remittance of salary or
income by employer
 Directing DSWD or appropriate agency to
provide shelter and social services

Who may file for Protection
Orders (P.O.)
 Offended party
 Parents or guardians
 Ascendants, descendants, collateral relatives
within 4th degree of consanguinity or affinity
 Social workers of DSWD or LGUs
 Police officers
 Punong Barangay or kagawad
 Lawyer, counselor, therapist, healthcare
provider
 At least 2 citizens of the city or municipality
who have personal knowledge of the offense

Barangay Protection Order
 Issued by Punong Barangay
 Effective for 15 days only
 Ordering perpetrator to desist from
committing physical harm or threatening
 Ex parte proceedings [Sec. 5(a) & (b)]
 Kagawad can issue if Punong Barangay is
not available

Temporary Protection Order
 Issued by the court on the day of filing
 Ex parte
 Priority over all other cases
 Effective for 30 days; extendible

Permanent Protection Order
 Issued after notice and hearing
 Priority over all other proceedings such as
election cases, habeas corpus, cases of
children (Sec. 20)

Public crime
Any citizen having personal knowledge or
the circumstances of the offense may file
a case

Battered Woman Syndrome
(BWS)
 BWS- scientifically defined pattern of
psychological and behavioral symptoms found in
women living in battering relationships as a
result of cumulative abuse.
 A defense; justifying circumstance;
 A victim with BWS is not disqualified from having
custody of her children
 Perpetrator of woman with BWS shall not have
custody

Duties of Barangay Officials &
Law Enforcers
 Enter the dwelling whether or not a P.O.
has been issued
 Confiscate deadly weapon in possession or
in plain view
 Transport or escort the victim to safe
place or clinic, hospital
 Assist victim in removing personal
belongings from the house

Duties
 Ensure enforcement of BPO, TPO, PPO
 Arrest without a warrant
 when the acts of violence is occurring, or
 When s/he has personal knowledge that
abuse has just been committed, and there is
imminent danger to life and limb of victim
 Immediately report the call for assistance of
DSWD, LGU social workers or accredited NGOs

Penalties for failure to report
 Barangay official or law enforcer who fails
to report the incident shall be liable for
fine not exceeding P10,000 or civil,
criminal or administrative liability

Prohibited Acts
 Barangay official or the court hearing the
application for a P.O. shall not order,
direct, force or in any way influence the
applicant to compromise or abandon any
of the relief sought.
 No mediation or conciliation of acts of
VAWC in the barangay

Exemption from liability
 NO CRIMINAL, CIVIL, ADMINISTRATIVE
LIABILITY :
 Any person, private individual, police
authority, barangay official acting in
accordance with law, who
 responds or intervenes without using
violence or restraint greater than
necessary to ensure safety of the victim

Rights of victims
 Right to be treated with respect & dignity;
 Legal assistance; support services from
DSWD, LGUs
 To be informed of their rights and services
available
 Additional 10 day paid leave from work
aside from present paid leave benefits

Counseling & Treatment of
Offenders
 DSWD shall provide rehabilitative
counseling and treatment of perpetrators
 Constructive ways of coping with anger
and reforming their ways.
 When necessary, the Court shall order
offender to submit to psychiatric
treatment or confinement

Confidentiality of records
 Court records and barangay records
 Right to privacy of victim
 Violation: 1 year imprisonment & fine of
not more than P500,000

THANK YOU.
This presentation was prepared by Atty. Rowena V. Guanzon
DILG Consultant on GAD