9th National Convention on Statistics (NCS)

EDSA Shangri-La Hotel

October 4-5, 2004

A Grim Reality in the Midst of Growth:

Violence Against Women in Naga City
by
Cristina P. Lim

For additional information, please contact:

Author’s name: Cristina P. Lim

Designation: Director
Agency: Ateneo de Naga University
Address: Ateneo Social Science Research Center, Naga City 4400
Telefax: (054) 4723178
E-mail: [email protected];[email protected]
 A Grim Reality in the Midst of Growth:
Violence Against Women in Naga City
by
Cristina P. Lim1

ABSTRACT

Amidst the economic growth of Naga City is the grueling experience of women in
the hands of men, be it their intimate partners, friends, acquaintance or someone
unknown to them.

In an attempt to estimate the incidence of violence inflicted on them, determine

women’s perceived causes and effects of violence, and assess the victims
awareness of and quality of the services provided by the city to VAW victims, a
survey of 300 women aged 15 years and over was conducted in 2002. Focus
group discussions, key informant interviews, and review of documents of police,
some NGO/community leaders and health service providers were also used to
substantiate the findings of the survey.

Results revealed a 26% incidence of VAW with substance abuse, excess

intake of alcoholic drinks, women’s negligence of role as wife and mother,
poverty, jealousy and men’s tendency to viewing pornographic materials as the
most commonly mentioned perceive causes of violence. Identified effects of
violence indicated a broad range of negative consequences on the victims, family
and community. The low level of awareness on the availability of services
indicated the less aggressive education campaign at the community level.
Specific recommendations for improving their services were offered.

I. Introduction

Violence against women (VAW) is one of the most prevalent human right
violations that strips one of security, dignity, self-worth and freedom. Studies
estimated that, from country to country, between 10% and 50% of women have
been physically assaulted by their intimate partner at some point in their lives. 1
In the Philippines, a national survey of 8,481 women 15-49 years of age in 1993
and of 1,660 women of the same age bracket in Cagayan de Oro City and the
Province of Bukidnon in 1998 placed the figure at 10% and 26%, respectively. 2

A global epidemic, VAW occurs in all countries and transcends social,

economic, religious, and cultural groups. Taking a variety of forms, VAW finds its
place in Naga City, “the heart of Bicol” located 377 kms south of Manila. Amidst
its growing economy, the city is beset with problem of male violence against
women. While watch groups such as Bantay Familia have been created in
response to VAW, information on its nature and extent of male VAW of
reproductive age, awareness and quality of service provided to victims needed to
guide the design of prevention intervention were still lacking. Thus, a study which
attempted to provide an estimate of the incidence of VAW, an understanding of
the causes and consequences of VAW and an assessment of victims’ awareness

1
Director, Ateneo Social Science Research Center, Ateneo de Naga University
and quality of services provided by the city to victims was conducted in late 2002.
The highlights of the results are presented in this paper.

II. Methodology and Approach

To attain the above objectives, the study conducted a survey with 300
women aged 15 years and over. The sample size was proportionately drawn
from among the 27 barangays of the city using the Social Weather Station (SWS)
systematic sampling design. A total of 60 spots were randomly distributed across
the 27 barangays with each spot allocated a minimum of five (5) respondents. In
each spot, qualified women respondents were selected by means of the
systematic random method using an interval of two (2) households with the first
household chosen at random starting from a fixed reference point within the spot.
The woman respondent within a given household was selected at random from
among those qualified in terms of age requirement with the use of the probability
respondents key that was made a part of the questionnaire. The estimated
margin of error for this sample size was plus or minus 5.7% with a reliability level
of 95%. Focus group discussions (FGDs) with the community leaders, male
community members, female community members, the youth, and female
members of local organizations, key informant interviews with 11 VAW survivors,
service providers, and sourcing secondary information were conducted to
substantiate findings from the survey.

Taking into account the extreme sensitivity of the subject matter,

experienced interviewers were hired and trained to draw out information without
putting the women at risk. Women respondents were assured of the
confidentiality of their responses.

What Characterize the women respondents

Majority of them (74%) were married, 15.7% single, 7.3% widowed and
3.0% separated. Their age ranged from 15 to 85 years averaging 36 years.
Many were literate, with 34% completed elementary or some high school and
38.7% completed high school or reached college level. Close to a fourth (18.3%)
obtained a college degree or even reached the post-graduate level. Their
household size averaged 5.49, slightly higher than the region’s of 5.24.3 Close
to half (48%) belonged to class D, 30.3% class C, 15.0% class E and only 6.7%
to the wealthy AB class.
 Table 1. Socio-demographics characteristics of respondents, Naga City, December 2003.

Characteristics No. % Characteristics No. %

Marital Status Age

Single 47 15.7 Mean 36
Married 222 74.0 Range 15-85
Widowed 22 7.3
Separated 9 3.0 Household size
Mean 5.49
Educational attainment Range 1-14
Some elementary 27 9.0
Elementary graduate/ Socio-economic status
some high school 102 34.0
High school graduate/ AB 20 6.7
some college 116 38.7 C 91 30.3
College graduate/ 55 18.3 D 144 48.0
post college E 45 15.0

Note: N = 300

The women’s varied activities indicated multiple roles they played. Aside
from household chores, 46% engaged in a wide range of productive activities,
mainly operating a sari-sari store (17.9%), vending food and non-food (11.4%),
practicing their professions as teacher, midwife, and social work (10%),
dressmaking or providing beauty services (10%), administering/managing small
business (9.3%), providing household help (8.6%) and many others (Table 2).

Table 2. Distribution of respondents by type of occupation, Naga City, December 2003

Type of Occupation No. %

Sari-sari store keeper 25 17.9

Vending 16 11.4
Practice of Profession 14 10.0
Dressmaking/beautician service 14 10.0
Administrator/contractor/manager/proprietor 13 9.3
Domestic work 12 8.6
Merchandiser/buy and sell/dealer of beauty products, 9 6.4
saleswoman)
Farm laborer/livestock raising 9 6.4
Government/private employees (bank teller, clerk, secretary) 9 6.4
Agent (insurance/real estate) 8 5.7
Barangay official/community worker 7 5.0
Factory worker/repacker/box-maker/umbrella repair 3 2.1
Service crew/utility 1 0.7
TOTAL 300 100.0
Incidence and prevalent forms of male violence against women

About 46.7% of them perceived that VAW is a common occurrence in

many households in the city. The 135 and 77 cases of VAW filed at Philippine
National Police (PNP) in 2002 and 2003, respectively, and the number of cases
served by Bantay Familia which indicated wife battering, rape/attempted rape,
physical maltreatment/injury as dominant forms of violence affirmed the
respondents’ perception (Tables 3 and 4).

Table 3. Type of abuse committed against women, Naga City, 2002-2003.

Type of Abuse 2002 2003 (as of September)

Rape 9 1
Attempted rape 2 1
Frustrated homicide 1
Sexual harassment 1
Acts of lasciviousness 5 3
Threats 10 7
Domestic violence/maltreatment 37 30
Physical injury 27 14
Oral defamation 12 5
Slander by Deed 3 3
Unjust vexation 28 12
Concubinage 1
Total 135 77
Source: PNP, Naga City

Table 4. Type of abuse committed against women and children,

Bantay Familia, Naga City, 1999-2002.

Type of abuse 2000 2001 2002

Abandoned 5 3 8
Neglected 0 1
Rape/attempted rape 14 15 12
Incest 3 4 3
Acts of Lasciviousness 3 2 2
Seduction 2 0 0
Sexually exploited 0 1 0
Physically Maltreated 21 14 10
Emotionally maltreated 1 1 10
Victims of child labor 1
Illegal recruitment 1
Child trafficking 1 2
Financial support 11 14
Battered wife 29 38 32
Legal separation 5 10 20
Child’s custody 10 9 20
Physical injury 5 2 16
Grave threats 3 3 5
Marital conflict 5 5 26
Drug-related cases 2 4
Case follow-up 18 18 37
Streetchildren related cases 1 2
Total 136 142 212
Source: Bantay Familia, Naga City.
 Of the 300 respondents, 26% [78 or one out of four (4) women] have
suffered some forms of physical or sexual abuse in the last 12 months prior to the
study. This figure seems to be a conservative estimate when compared with the
number of cases filed at PNP and those served by Bantay Familia indicating
public’s tendency to hold a dim view of women and to avoid public shame
preferring to keep any shameful acts confined within the home.

The seriousness of the violence

Figure 1 shows the seriousness of the assault mostly by the husband or

male partner. The most prevalent forms of abuse were women being pushed,
slapped or beaten (70.5%), threatened to be hit, attacked, or threatened with
weapon, (47.4%), touched, grabbed, kissed or fondled against will in any sexual
way (16.7%), and forced or attempted to force into sexual activity by threat,
holding down, or hurting in some way (14.1%). The 70.5% (or 18.3% at n = 300)
women who sustained physical assault is relatively higher than the SWS national
rate of 9% of women 18 years old and over. 4

Figure 1. Proportion of women who have experienced violence, Naga City, 2003.

14.1
Touched, grabbed, kissed
or fondled against will

16.7
Touched, grabbed, kissed
or fondled against will

47.4
Thretened to be hit,
attacked or threatened
with weapon
70.5
Hit, pushed, slapped or
beaten

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Among the 222 married women, 68.5% sustained emotional/verbal abuse, 21%
sexual abuse and 16.7% physical abuse. The higher prevalence of emotional/verbal
abuse among married women relative to other forms of abuse parallels the findings of a
national survey among ever married or common-law Canadian women aged 18 to 65
years in 1993. Table 5 also shows that violence cuts across educational attainment and
the presence or absence of income.
 Table 5. Distribution of abused married women by educational
attainment and presence or absence of income

Type of Abuse No. %

Some elementary 13 8.28

Elementary graduate/some high school 60 38.22
High school graduate/some college 60 38.22
College graduate/post college 24 15.29

With income 71 45.2

Without income 86 54.8

TOTAL ( n =157) 157 100.0

Explaining male violence against women

Male violence against women arises from a combination of complex and

interrelated factors ranging from individual-related to family and society at large
(Table 6). The five most frequently mentioned were substance abuse (56.9%),
excessive intake of alcoholic drinks (36.9%) by male perpetrator, negligence as
wife and mother are situations provocative of a husband’s ire (30.7%), extreme
poverty as a result of the husband’s unemployment or low income (25.3%), and
extreme jealousy as a result of marital infidelity (17.9%). The prominence of
excessive intake of alcohol and substance abuse as factors that trigger violence
has been well documented. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 The FGD participants further argued that the
lack of privacy and the propitious sleeping arrangement are conducive to sexual
abuse of unmarried female members.

Table 6. Distribution of respondents by factors perceived to be contributing to violence

against women, Naga City, December 2002.
Factors No %

Substance abuse (use of drugs, tripping) 170 56.9

Excessive intake of alcohol 108 36.9
Shortcomings of the woman as a wife or mother 92 30.7
Extreme poverty/unemployment of husband 76 25.3
Marital infidelity/jealousy 51 17.9
Flirtatious behavior/behaving like a vamp 38 12.7
Pornographic materials/films 32 10.7
Irresponsible husband/father/parents/broken family 23 7.7
Wife/husband engaged in vice 19 6.3
Nagging wife/unreasonable spouse 19 6.3
Husband’s insecurity/immaturity 16 5.3
Lack of communication/miscommunication 16 5.3
Peer influence/environment 13 4.3
Situations conducive to perpetration of violence 9 3.0
Some women allow themselves to be abused 9 3.0
Lack of education 7 2.3
Refusal of wife to have sex with husband 3 1.0
Violence inherent in the family of male spouse 3 1.0
Lack of faith in God 1 0.3
No answer 4 1.3
TOTAL (n=300)*
*Results do not add up to 100% due to multiple responses
Perceived Consequences of VAW

Perceived effects of VAW included a long list of physical, psychological,

emotional and socio-economics effects on the victim, on the family and on the
community.

On the victim. Table 7 shows that among others, abused women were
most likely to suffer from trauma, excessive fear, illness inducing nightmares
(32.7%), tendency to commit suicide (31.3%), tendency to become rebellious or
develop violent behaviors enough to cause her commit crime (27.3%), mental
breakdown (25.3%) and the lose of self-confidence and self-respect (20.0). The
FGD participants also expressed anxiety over possible withdrawal of financial
support by the husband and the loss of wife’s affection and respect for the
husband.

Table 7. Distribution of respondents by perceived effects of VAW on the victim,

Naga City, December 2002.

Effects on victim No. %

Shock and traumas/excessive fear/illness/nightmares 98 32.7

Develops suicidal tendency/loss of will to live 94 31.3
Victim becomes rebellious/violent/prone to committing crime 82 27.3
Victim develops mental disorder/nervous breakdown 76 25.3
Intense pain/anger toward abuser 61 20.3
Shame/inferiority/Loss of dignity/self confidence 75 25.0
Ruined future/loss of interest in schooling 34 11.3
Suffers from physical pain/health is affected 14 4.7
Victim learned a lesson/became strong 7 2.3
Victim loses faith in God 4 1.3
Unwanted pregnancy 2 0.7
No answer/don’t know 11 3.66
TOTAL (n=300)*
* Results do not add up to 100% due to multiple responses

On the family. When violence breaks out in the family, the children
suffered the most. Sixty-five percent (65.7%) opined that violence traumatized
children inducing them to be rebellious, harbor pain and anger and indulge in
substance abuse, or positively, to study hard (Table 8). Two other most
mentioned effects were the break-up of the family (44.9%) and the loss of good
reputation in the community (16.9%).
 Table 8. Distribution of respondents by perceived effects of VAW on the family of the
Victim, Naga City, December 2002.
Effects on family No. %

Children suffer from anger, pain, fear, trauma/become rebellious/leave 197 65.6%
home/drawn to vices/study harder
Husband and wife separate/broken family/ 132 44.9
Loss of family reputation and good standing in the community 48 16.9
Sense of pity and loss with the ruin of a family member’s life 21 7.0
Family abandoned by husband is drawn deeper into poverty 18 6.0
Retaliation through violence/criminal act 14 4.7
Parents seek justice for the victim 13 4.3
Early marriage 2 0.7
Members lose faith in God 2 0.3
Learns to become aware and careful 1 0.3
No answer 13 4.3
TOTAL (n=300)*
* Percentage results do not add up to 100% due to multiple responses

Confirming the survey findings, FGD participants added that, in some

cases, some children develop a strong resolve to study harder for brighter future,
or the wife to work harder as positive responses to violence.

On the community. VAW has indirect effects on the community. Table 9

reveals that among others, VAW generates a climate of fear and tension among
members of the community (38.9%), fuels loose talks/gossips (18.3%), and
creates bad community’s reputation (16.0%). These highlight the importance of
maintaining peace and harmonious relationship in the community as well as its
good reputation.

Table 9. Distribution of respondents by perceived effects of VAW on the community,

Naga City, December 2002.
Effects on community No %

Creates fear/tension among members 114 38.9

Loose talks/gossips among community members 55 18.3
Gives a bad reputation to the community 48 16.0
Violence sets a bad example to children 28 9.3
The members join together to help victims 28 9.3
The community feels depressed 23 7.7
Indifference and apathy/nonchalance 17 5.7
Violence evokes anger/condemnation of abuser 17 5.7
Loss of confidence in the government 16 5.3
Community learns a lesson to become more careful 13 4.3
VAW is recognized as a problem 8 2.6
No answer 36 12.0
TOTAL (n=300)*
* Results do not add up to 100% due to multiple responses
Women’s awareness and quality of services to VAW Survivors

The study showed that only 39% indicated knowledge of services available
to VAW survivors reflecting the less aggressive educational campaign on the
community-based efforts as a response to VAW. Four (4) most services being
offered to survivors were protection, care and rehabilitation of the survivor
(23.9%), counseling services or advice by barangay leaders, volunteers of
Bantay Familia and the pastoral council (23.9%), assistance in the forms of
medication, food and hospitalization (16.2%) and in reporting the case to the
concerned authority or referring it to the proper institution (11.9%) (Table 10).
Very few showed a vague knowledge of the specific services provided by certain
institutions as indicated by simple reference to Bantay Familia (14.5%), the
DSWD (14.5%) and the DSWD Bantay Bata program (1.7%).

Table 10. Distribution of respondents by type of services known to be available to VAW

Survivors, Naga City, December 2002.

Services No %

Protection/rehabilitation/care of survivor 28 23.9

Counseling or advice by barangay leaders/BF/pastoral council, etc. 28 23.9
Assistance in medication/providing food/hospitalization 19 16.2
Assistance in reporting/bringing victim to authority/referral 14 11.9
Referral to nuns/Sta. Rafaela conducts dialogue with parents 8 6.8
Investigation/apprehending and detaining of offender 7 6.0
Legal assistance and legal counseling 6 5.1
Psychiatric service 4 3.4
Monetary and moral support 4 3.4
Seminars (bugkos familia)/advice on where to go for assistance 2 1.7
Bantay Familia 17 14.5
DSWD 17 14.5
Bantay Bata 2 1.7

TOTAL (n=117)*
* Results do not add up to 100% due to multiple responses

In-depth interviews with 11 survivors of VAW corroborated the survey

finding on low level of awareness. Of the 11 survivors, only four (4) were aware
of legislation and policies governing VAW and five (5) of the services provided to
VAW victims. And, only four (4) have sought assistance from persons of
authority. The rest preferred to keep the incidents to themselves to avoid putting
the family in shame. Two of the survivors who had hospital treatment found the
quality of service fairly good while another one complained of a hospital
personnel who seemed unfamiliar with the procedure for requesting medical
certificates resulting in delays in securing medical certificates. In all of the cases
that required medical attention, no referral to any other institutions was made.
Responding to Violence

Violence against women is a social problem that requires immediate

coordinated response from multiple sectors to provide comprehensive support to
women affected by VAW and their children. A short list of possible responses to
VAW is presented below.

1. The relatively low level of incidence of VAW reflects the comparatively

lower regard given to women and public awareness of VAW as a human
right issue, a social and public health concerns - perpetuating male
domination and female subordination. A more intensive and extensive
education campaign and advocacy by the government, civil society and
community must then be pursued.

2. The complex reasons for the occurrence of VAW and the low quality of
services provided to the survivors emphasized the need for local service
providers to undergo gender sensitivity trainings and psychosocial healing,
establishment of a one-stop shop health services and a community-based
groups to monitor the incidence of domestic violence and provide
immediate and appropriate response to the victims.

3. The debilitating impacts of VAW on children victims calls for special

psychosocial counseling assistance at the school and mainstreaming of
gender and strengthening family values in school curriculum.

4. The study noted that finances, a stress factor, triggers the occurrence of
VAW. Responding to it through provision of additional source of income
may lessen the family stresses and consequently, the occurrence of VAW.
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ASSRC
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Acknowledgement

The author acknowledges the Urban Research Consortium-National Capital

Region, based in the Institute of Church and Social Issues (ICSI) of the Ateneo
de Manila University for the permission to publish the findings of the VAW study
in Naga City, Ms. Sonia S. Imperial for directing the study, Mr. Lauro Lleno for
helping out in the initial stage of project conceptualization, ASSRC’s other staff
and field interviewers, and the respondents for making this project possible.