Baguio sets database to curb upped VAWC cases

By Liza Agoot 

BAGUIO CITY – The city government said it has begun working with a network of organizations to come up with a unified database for cases of violence against women and their children (VAWC).
    Chief city information officer Aileen Refuerzo, in a message, said the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) made the initiative after the city recorded 29 VAWC cases just in the first three months of 2022.
    With the help of its partners, the CSWDO said the database aims to bridge gaps in the reporting of the status of VAWC cases and ensure victims are well-attended and accounted for at all levels, from the barangay, hospital, and the police.
    Refuerzo said that initial services provided to VAWC victims include counseling of both the abused and abuser and if needed, the provision of a temporary shelter for the abused.
    She said that victims are also provided with other forms of assistance to empower them and help them protect themselves.
    She said among the types of abuses suffered by women and children are physical, psychological, economic, and sexual abuse.
    “Iyong iba, nase-settle sa baba pa lang pero yung iba umaabot sa court (Some get settled at the onset but others reach the courts),” Refuerzo said.
    She said that one possible immediate course of action to prevent a repeat of the abusive act is through a barangay protection that prohibits the abuser from going anywhere near the victim. -- PNA