Higher VAWC cases in rural areas : DSWD
The Department of Social Welfare and Development 6 is alarmed over the growing incidence of violence against women and children (VAWC) in rural areas.
Assistant Regional Director Joel Galicia said VAWC has been a growing trend even in rural areas for years, especially in farming communities where men are the dominant family heads and most women focus on housework and are not aware of laws protecting them.
Some incidence of violence against women and children in rural areas are not reported because the victims are not aware of their rights for protection, he said.
Also, Social Welfare Officer Delia Bagolcol said they have intercepted and rescued several girls, including minors, coming from rural areas and impoverished provinces.
Most of them are from farms in Negros Occidental, Aklan and Iloilo, and even Cebu and Mindanao.
Bagolcol said these victims were promised high paying jobs in the city but ended up commercially and sexually exploited in bars, motels and restaurants.
Bagolcol, a member of the Regional Inter-agency Council Against Trafficking, said the DSWD has been working on an internet-based tracking system to trace the origins and destinations of people who are victims of violence, including rape, physical abuse and human trafficking, among others.
She said they also plan to monitor the responses of services of agencies and local government units and to generate data on VAWC.
The DSWD and other government agencies are currently joining the 18-Day Campaign on the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Children which ends on December 12.*PNA
