CEBU, Philippines — The Department of Social Welfare and Services (DSWS) is urged to aggressively monitor cases of Violence Against Women and Children (VAWC) in Cebu City by actively coordinating with the barangays and to set up phones and helplines for women and children in distress.
Councilor Alvin Dizon, in a proposed resolution, said that the COVID-19 pandemic is causing serious combination of economic and social stresses to families globally, and with the imposed lockdowns there have been an increase of the numbers of women and children facing abuse.
“The imposed lockdowns which restricts movements have dramatically increased the numbers of women and girls facing abuse in a place where they should be safest: in their own homes,” said Dizon.
Dizon cited a news report published on April 6, 2020 where UN chief Antonio Guterres called for measures to address a “horrifying global surge in domestic violence” directed towards women and girls, linked to lockdowns imposed by governments responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The councilor said that the UN chief has strongly “urged all governments to make the prevention and redress of violence against women and children key part of the national response plans for COVID-19 and to undertake concrete actions to prevent violence everywhere, from war zones to people’s homes, as the we work to beat COVID-19.”
“As we aggressively tackle the pandemic, we must also do all we can to protect the most vulnerable-the women and girls-who, when facing different types of domestic abuse and violence, have nowhere to go,” said Dizon.
He said it is both the moral and legal obligation of the government to provide full protection to the most vulnerable in society and to promptly come to their aid when their safety and lives are seriously endangered.
Dizon likewise enjoined the DSWS to tap civil society organizations (CSOs) to help in the monitoring, reporting and prosecution of abusers, provide psycho-social counseling and interventions as well as temporary shelter services for the victims and scale up public awareness campaigns on VAWC cases at this time of pandemic. FPL (FREEMAN)