CEBU, Philippines - The cases of women in especially difficult circumstances increased in 2012 according to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Region 7.
Jaybee Binghay, DSWD regional information officer, said that the cases of women in especially difficult circumstances who sought the help of DSWD in 2012 increased compared to the number of victims in 2011.
Women in especially difficult circumstances are those who are victims of abuse, trafficking, prostitution and maltreatment.
A total of 776 cases were reported in 2012 from the different communities of the four island provinces in Central Visayas including Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental and Siquijor.
This shows an increase of 154 cases compared to the 622 cases reported in 2011.
The said statistics was broken down into different categories including emotionally abused women, physically abused, battered and maltreated women, victims of sexual abuse (rape, incest and acts of lasciviousness), victims of illegal recruitment, involuntary prostitution and trafficking.
Cases of emotionally-abused women remain on top in 2012, despite a note decrease in the number of cases compared to the previous year. A total of 199 victims were reported last year while a total of 241 cases were reported in 2011.
Other cases which include financial support, in crises, child custody, delayed registration and tracing lost loved ones, have 133 reported cases in 2012 compared to the 127 cases in 2011.
The physically abused, battered and maltreated women also decreased last year with 88 compared to the 113 in 2011.
There are 13 sexually abused women last year and 18 in 2011. There were also six cases reported last year compared to five in 2011 while cases involving acts of lasciviousness decreased with only three compared to the 13 in 2011.
Only 2 cases involving illegal recruitment or illegal prostitution were reported while victims of trafficking increased from 20 in 2011 to 29 last year.
Rosemarie Salazar, DSWD’s specialist on women’s welfare, said that the increase both show an advantage and a disadvantage.
“It is a disadvantage in the sense that ongoing lang diay gihapon ang abuses against women but the good thing about it is that the women are now aware that naa silay kadangpan ug kaduolan nga agency for their problems,â€Salazar told The FREEMAN. —/MIT (FREEMAN)