Baguio City, Philippines - Gender-based violence cases across the Cordillera region have decreased by 9.98 percent from January to December last year, compared to the same period in 2021, the Police Regional Office reported.
Gender-based violence is a crime against chastity, sexual harassment, abuses committed against women and children, and other similar offenses.
During the 1st Quarter Regional Gender and Development Committee meeting recently held, Chief of Regional Women and Children Protection Desk, PMaj. Marcy Grace Marron said 586 cases were recorded in 2022 which is 65 lower than the 651 cases in 2021.
Photo and video voyeurism plummeted by 71 percent, rape cases declined by 19.67 percent, and child abuse dropped by 19.28 percent.
A decrease of 8.47 percent was recorded for violence against women and their children.
Trafficking in person, on the other hand, increased by 60 percent. Acts of lasciviousness went up by 8.47 percent, while the same number of sexual harassment cases were recorded- 3.
The highest number of gender-based violence cases were reported in Baguio City with 192. Benguet came next with 152, Ifugao with 67, Kalinga with 61, and Mt. Province with 31.
Some cases, according to Marron, were dismissed due to the lack of interest of the complainant to pursue the case, lack of probable cause, death of the accused, and sufficiency of evidence.
As their countermeasures, police personnel are consistently conducting advocacy campaigns for the end of such violence.
Further, the police are educating the community members, especially elders that settling cases of gender-based violence at the village level is prohibited.
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