The administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is supporting the 18-Day Campaign to End Violence Against Women (VAW).

The advocacy campaign is observed annually from Nov. 25 to Dec. 12, as mandated by Proclamation 1172 s. 2006 in support of the government’s goal to protect the human rights of women and address all forms of gender-based violence as enshrined in the 1987 Constitution.

By virtue of Republic Act 10398 or the Act declaring November 25 of every year as the National Consciousness Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Children (VAWC), government agencies are mandated to raise awareness on the problem of violence and the elimination of all forms of violence against women.

The observance of the campaign started on November 25? the International Day to Eliminate VAW? up to December 10 ? the International Human Rights Day. The campaign is to emphasize VAW is a human rights violation and to ensure better protection for survivors and victims of violence.

The United Nations defines VAW as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or likely to result in, physical, sexual, or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.”

Violence and the threats of violence can be experienced by every woman of any age, skin color, gender identity, ethnicity, religion, disabilities, economic, and social status.

In the Philippines, the National Demographic Health Survey 2017 released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), revealed that one in every four Filipino women, aged 15-49, has experienced physical, emotional, or sexual violence from their husbands, relatives or partners.

Global estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO) indicate that about one in three women (35 percent) worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual violence from an intimate partner or non-partner in their lifetime. Presidential News Desk