Bohol VAW Cases Decrease

Bohol Police Provincial Office reported a 52% dip in cases of violence against women and children (VAWC) from January to November in 2017.

The downtrend is already considered a huge accomplishment, and records would also show that in 2016, VAWC cases reached 165 cases, according to Police Senior Inspector Nida Perocho.

Perocho, who came to the Kapihan sa PIA bringing a summative report on the VAWC cases in Bohol, also clarified that the cases in their records at Camp Dagohoy reflect only those getting into town blotters that prospered into legal suits.

As to the development, authorities continue to urge women and girls who might be victims of physical, sexual, emotional, and psychological or economic abuse to come out where help is available.

It would only be when they come out from hiding that they can be helped, said Inspector Perocho.

One thing good about reporting these cases of abuse is that the perpetrators would have something to think about before committing another atrocity as it can lead to jailtime, added social worker Desiree Faith Lingo during the radio forum.

By reporting and filing suits, however, many women and girls fear they have nowhere to go.

A facility called Bohol Crisis Intervention Center (BCIC) here responds to cases like that, said BCIC’s Donna Belle Mante.

BCIC is designed as a temporary shelter and safe house for women and children who are victims of violence, where victims get to a support group, avail of stress debriefing, medical, legal, and other services from the government while their cases are considered in court.

Among the advocacies adopted for the national observance of the 18-day campaign to end violence against women set on November 28-December 12 is the Kapihan sa PIA in Bohol.

Topping crimes which were elevated to the courts were physical abuse which reached 20 cases, psychological abuse at 14, economic abuse at 14, and rape at 5.

Acts of lasciviousness cases reached 4, sexual harassment and incestuous rape each had 2 cases, while a single case of bigamy and violation of personal protection order reached Camp Dagohoy.

A high case count of rape in the cases filed was affected by a case where there were 19 counts of rape filed to a perpetrator of a single victim, Insp. Perocho said.

As to the decrease, BCIC, a temporary shelter for women and children operated by the Provincial Government, said that it entails two considerations.

An increase in cases may mean more and more people know that they can report these to authorities, while a decrease can really mean a dip in the cases, according to Mante.

Mante, who sits among the key authorities at the BCIC, said that since their establishment in 2002, their occupancy rate has been averaging at 30 sheltered victims.

BCIC has now been tagged as a safe house for women and girl victims of gender-based abuses, Mante said. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)