One In Four Women Have Ever

Experienced Spousal Violence

(Preliminary results from the 2017
National Demographic and Health Survey)
Release Date:
Monday, March 26, 2018
Based on the preliminary findings of the 2017 National Demographic and
Health Survey (NDHS), one in four (26%) ever-married women aged 15-49 has
ever experienced physical, sexual or emotional violence by their husband or
partner. One in five (20%) women has ever experienced emotional
violence, 14 percent has ever experienced physical violence, and 5
percent has ever experienced sexual violence by their current or most recent
husband or partner.

Table 1 shows the prevalence of different forms of violence experienced by

ever-married women 15-49 of age according to background characteristics of
women. As observed, the percentage of women who have experienced
violence in physical, sexual, and/or emotional form, from their husband
declines slightly with women’s age. Women who are divorced, separated, or
widowed are more likely to have experienced all forms of violence by their
most recent partner compared with women who are married or living
together: 53 percent of divorced, separated, or widowed women have
experienced physical, sexual, or emotional violence compared with 24
percent of women who are married or living together.

Women’s experience with violence by a partner varies widely by region: only 7

percent of ever-married women in the Autonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao report experiencing physical, sexual, or emotional violence by their
last partner compared with 52 percent of ever-married women in Caraga. All
forms of violence generally decline with increasing household wealth.

Spousal violence refers to violence perpetrated by partners in a marital union.

Since spousal or intimate partner violence is the most common form of
violence for women aged 15-49, the 2017 National Demographic and Health
Survey collected detailed information on the different types of violence
experienced. Currently married women were asked about violence
perpetrated by their current husband or partner, and formerly married
women were asked about violence perpetrated by their most recent husband
or partner.

The Republic Act No. 9262 or the “Anti-Violence Against Women and Their
Children Act of 2004” is one of the Philippine government’s initiative in
addressing the issue on violence against women.Under this Act, violence
against women is classified as a public crime and penalizes all forms of abuse
and violence within the family and intimate relationships.

The NDHS 2017 is a nationally representative survey of almost 31,000

households and 25,000 women aged 15-49. The survey was conducted from 14
August to 27 October 2017. The NDHS 2017 is the eleventh in a series of
demographic surveys undertaken in the Philippine since 1968. Funding for the
NDHS 2017 was provided by the Government of the Philippines. The United
States Agency for International Development (USAID) provided technical
assistance and equipment through ICF under the Demographic and Health
Surveys (DHS) program. A comprehensive final report will be disseminated by
third quarter of this year.

https://psa.gov.ph/content/one-four-women-have-ever-experienced-spousal-violence-
preliminary-results-2017-national
Legalizing divorce in the Philippines: What
you need to know
Kristine Joy Patag (Philstar.com) - March 20, 2018 - 4:47pm
MANILA, Philippines — March 19 marked a monumental day for advocates of divorce.

In a vote of 134-57, the lower house of Congress approved on third and final reading
House Bill 7303 or "An Act Instituting Absolute Divorce and Dissolution of Marriage in
the Philippines."

Seen as a "pro-women legislation," the bill aims to legalize divorce in the Philippines—
the only other country aside from the Vatican City where it is illegal to do so.

The proposed measure pushed by progressive party-lists in Congress also saw support
from two unlikely allies: opposition lawmaker Rep. Edcel Lagman (Albay), the main
sponsor of the bill, and House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, one of its co-authors.

Here's what you need to know about moves to legalize divorce in the Philippines.

1. What options are available for Filipinos who want to

get out of marriage?
Currently, the only legal recourse available to Filipinos who want to exit a failed union is
through an annulment or a petition for legal separation. These two options have
different grounds and end results.

Under the Family Code of the Philippines, a marriage may be annulled if any of the
following grounds exist: lack of parental consent, psychological incapacity, fraud,
marriage by force or intimidation, inability to consummate the marriage and if one party
has contracted a sexually-transmissible disease. The 1987 Family Code was introduced
under the presidency of Corazon Aquino.

Those seeking annulment must undergo a mental exam, testify in court and sometimes
even claim they or their spouse entered the union while afflicted by a psychological
disorder. The process can cost at least P250,000 and take anywhere from one to 10
years given the congestion in Philippine court dockets.

Meanwhile, a petition for legal separation requires any of the following grounds:
repeated physical abuse from partner, coercion to change religious or political affiliation,
attempt of respondent to corrupt petitioner or their child to engage in prostitution,
respondent meted with imprisonment of more than 6 years, drug addiction of spouse,
lesbianism or homosexuality, bigamous marriage, sexual infidelity or perversion,
attempt against the life of spouse and abandonment without justifiable cause for more
than a year.
If the petition is granted, the couple may live separately from each other. The conjugal
partnership is also dissolved, but the marriage bonds are still in effect.

Annulment also allows remarriage but legal separation does not.

2. Why is there no divorce law in the Philippines?

Across the globe, the Philippines and the Vatican are the only states without divorce but
allow the annulment of marriages. The Vatican is an independent state headed by the
pope, who also heads the Catholic Church. The Philippines, meanwhile, is a
predominantly Catholic country. Majority of couples also opt to marry in church.

A week before the Divorce Bill got the approval of the lower house, the Catholic
Bishops' Conference of the Philippines issued a statement calling for "more reasoned
debates on the issue."

The CBCP warned that lawmakers packaged divorce as an "easy option," which may
result in marriages and families breaking up more easily.

"We merely ask that they consider the possibility that divorce, while it may indeed
provide quick legal remedies for some seemingly 'failed marriages,' might end up
destroying even those marriages that could have been saved by dialogues or the
intervention of family, friends, pastors and counselors," Archbishop Romulo Valles,
president of the CBCP, said.

The CBCP, however, cannot participate in the bill's interpellations. Some also raised the
separation of the Church and State as enshrined in the 1987 Constitution.

Gabriela Women's Party Rep. Emmi de Jesus in a statement after the bill hurdled the
lower house reiterated calls for its legalization.

"Ang pagpasok sa kontrata ng kasal, na kinikilala ng estado ay isang karapatan.

Karapatang may karampatang obligasyong kailangan tuparin ng dalawang panig. Dapat
naroroon ang pagmamahalan, paggalang, suporta at iba pang factors na magbibigay ng
kaligayahan at kalusugan sa kanilang relasyon," she said.

(Entering the contract of marriage, that is recognized by the state, is a right. A right that
has corresponding obligations which must be met by both sides. There should be love,
respect, support and other factors that ensure a happy and healthy relationship.)

"Kapag may paglabag sa mga obligasyong ito, na kung minsang umaabot pa sa

puntong nakataya na ang buhay at katinuan sa pagitan ng mag-asawa, marapat lamang
na kilalanin din ng estado ang karapatan na wakasan ang kontrata at karapatang umalis
sa relasyon."
(If there are violations of these obligations, that sometimes even endangers the life and
sanity of the couple, it is just for the state to also recognize their right to end the contract
and exit the failed relationship.)

Gabriela Women's Party has been pushing for the legalization of divorce since the 13th
Congress when it first secured seats in the lower chamber.

Muslims in the Philippines, however, are not covered by the ban on divorce. Presidential
Decree No. 1083, signed by the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos Sr., provides that a
couple married under the Muslim laws "have the right to divorce."

3. How did the divorce bill fare in past

administrations?
This was the first time that a proposal to institute divorce in Philippine laws reached the
plenary of the lower house.

Rep. Edcel Lagman (Albay) is the main sponsor of the bill. It was approved on March
19.

The divorce bill was first introduced during the 13th Congress in 2005. Bills pushing for
divorce was also filed by lawmakers for the 14th, 15th and 16th Congress.

For the 15th Congress, then-Rep. Rufus Rodriguez (Cagayan de Oro) and Rep. Marlyn
Primicias-Agabas (Pangasinan) sponsored House Bill 4368 that seeks to "harmonize"
the Family Code "with recent rulings of the SC on divorce obtained by the alien spouse
in another country." The House plenary approved the said bill on Sept. 26, 2012, and
was received by the Senate on the same day.

Then Gabriela Women's Party Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan also filed a bill to amend the
Family Code and introduce divorce. The bill was referred to the Committee on Revision
of Laws on Jan. 26, 2011.

Five similar bills on divorce were also filed during the 16th Congress. The Ilagan-
sponsored bill has been pending with the Committee on Population and Family
Relations since May 20, 2014.

4. What are the pertinent details of HB 7303?

House Bill 7303 aims to make divorce more accessible to a wider range of couples
seeking liberty from irreparable marriage.

It provides that the "State shall assure that the court proceedings for the grant of
absolute divorce shall be affordable and inexpensive, particularly for court assisted
litigants and petitioners."
The proposed measure also pushes for a pro-women legislation as the bill notes that in
most cases of irreparable marriages it is the wife who is entitled to liberation from an
abusive relationship.

The status of the children of divorced couples also takes precedence. A joint petition for
divorce should include a plan for parenthood that details support, parental authority,
custody and living arrangements of the common children.

For the legitimate and adopted children of divorced spouses, they will retain their legal
status after the petition for divorce is granted. A child born or conceived within 300 days
after filing for divorce is also considered a legitimate child, except when the basis for
divorce is marital infidelity of the wife.

The bill also proposes that divorced spouses shall have the right to remarry.

It also prioritizes filing of Filipinos working abroad.

One of the grounds under the proposed bill is when "one of the spouses undergoes a
gender reassignment surgery." Other grounds include:

 reasons stated under legal separation and annulment under the Family Code
 separation of spouses for at least five years
 legal separation by judicial decree for at least two years
 psychological incapacity
 irreconcilable marital differences

The bill also seeks to penalize a spouse found guilty of coercing his or her partner into
marriage. The respondent will face imprisonment of five years and a fine of P200,000.

5. So what's next for the divorce bill?

The Senate is due to receive the bill approved by the lower house. But it is expected to
face a tougher passage there with several senators publicly stating their opposition.

Senate President Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III, a party-mate of President Rodrigo

Duterte, had earlier said that he is more inclined to add more grounds for annulment
than push for divorce.

Should the two chambers of Congress approve the same version of the bill, it would be
elevated to Malacañang for the signature of the president. Duterte, however, might veto
a Congress-approved divorce bill as he has been vocal of his disapproval of it. During
the March 2016 presidential debates, Duterte has thumbed down divorce.

Hours before the voting at the lower house, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque
reiterated Duterte's stance against it.
The 72-year-old Philippine leader has separated from his estranged wife through
annulment long before he was elected president. — with a report from AFP

MANILA - More Filipinos favor legalizing divorce in the Philippines, showed a survey by the
Catholic Church strongly opposed to the measure.

Out of 1,200 respondents, 39 percent said they "strongly agree" with passing a divorce measure in
the Philippines while 13 percent said they "somewhat agree," according to results of the survey by
Church-run Radio Veritas.

This is slightly higher than the 35 percent of respondents who said they "strongly disagree" with
legalizing divorce and another 13 percent that said they "somewhat disagree."

Results of the Veritas Truth Survey were released Tuesday, a day after the House of Representatives
approved a proposed measure legalizing divorce in the Philippines.

esults of the survey also showed that more women favor legalizing divorce, with 43 percent saying
they “strongly agree” versus 34 percent of men who strongly approve of the proposal.

The legalization of divorce is also more appealing to younger people, with 43 percent of those who
agree aged between 13 and 20, followed by adults (40 to 60 years old) at 38 percent, young adults
(21 to 39 years old) at 34 percent, and the elderly (61 years old and above) at 19 percent.

Filipinos who belong to the higher economic class are also more agreeable to a divorce law with a
majority coming from Class B at 62 percent, followed by Class C2 at 55 percent, Class C1 at 48
percent, Class A at 46 percent, Class D at 40 percent, and Class E at 31 percent.

The survey, which has a ±3 percent margin of error, was conducted by the Radio Veritas Research
Department from December 2017 to January 2018.

A separate Social Weather Stations survey conducted from March 25 to 28, 2017, and December 8 to
16, 2017 also showed that a majority of Filipinos or 53 percent agree to legalize divorce in the
country for irreconcilably separated couples.

THERE IS A GLARING PROBLEM IN THE SOCIETY THAT THE STATE REFUSES TO

ACKNOWLEDGE. It is mentioned in the 1987 Constitution Section 4. The prime duty of
the Government is to serve and protect the people. The Government may call upon the
people to defend the State and, in the fulfillment thereof, all citizens may be required,
under conditions provided by law, to render personal, military or civil service.

Section 5. The maintenance of peace and order, the protection of life, liberty, and
property, and promotion of the general welfare are essential for the enjoyment by all the
people of the blessings of democracy.

Section 6. The separation of Church and State shall be inviolable.