TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol (PIA) –The cycle of abuse in women and children has to break, and breaking that cycle which has caused the ruined future of many, is in our hands.
This sums up the statement of the police authorities sitting at the Women and Children’s Protection Desk (WCPD) or the Philippine National Police municipal police stations across the province, as echoed by Police Captain Mildred Tagaamo during the recent Kapihan sa PIA.
Capt. Tagaamo and Police Senior Master Sergeant Beatriz Pogoy, both investigators and Kapihan guests on women and child abuse prevention bared that most abused children and women grow into abusive or aggressive personalities, further complicating the problem.
Moreover, the sensitive matter of the cases, also hold most victims into keeping the abuse rather than reporting it.
According to Camp Dagohoy, violations against Republic Act 9262 or violence against women and providing their protection tops the cases, followed by rape, acts of lasciviousness and sexual harassment.
Moreover, in the violence against children category, violations against Republic Act 7610 or the act that provides stronger deterrence and special protection against child abuse and exploitation tops the cases, followed by rape and acts of lasciviousness, police sources basing their reports on the special crimes blotter involving women and children attest.
From January 1 to July 31 in 2022, violence against women cases reached 70 cases and rose further to 19 in 2023.
Rape, on the other hand reared its angry head, registering 8 cases for the period in 2022 to 20 cases in 2023.
From 5 cases in 2022, acts of lasciviousness, or the illegal touching of another person’s private parts with the intent of sexual gratification, soared to 11 this year.
Sexual harassment however went down from 2 cases in 2022 to one in 2023.
For the case of child abuse, cases in the violations against the supposedly special protection of the child in 2023 sunk to 42 from 63 cases in 2022.
The case of rape of minors also rose 2 cases up with the 45 cases recorded in 2022 to 47 in 2023. As to acts of lasciviousness committed to minors, reports showed 14 cases in 2022 sinking down to 10 in the first seven months of the year in 2023.
As to the details of the cases of rape as reported, Camp Dagohoy records show a depressing figure.
While of the 34 cases of rape in 2022 involved aggression, the victims and the perpetrators have no relations, police sources said. By the next year, the cases in fact rose further to 43.
Even more deplorably alarming is the case of incest where parents themselves were physically involved in the rape of daughters or sons.
In 2022, police recorded 8 cases of incestuous rape, and 5 cases in 2023.
Rape by siblings in 2022 had one case and this became 2 this year.
Rape by stepfathers also figured in cases: the 3 cases in 2022 increased to 4 in the first 7 months of 2023.
Be wary also of boyfriends who may be an intimate relationship with girlfriends, the cops recorded 2 cases of rape in 2023 from a single case in 2022.
In most of these cases, police investigators said those who do not sit well in society, they found out, had either bad and traumatic childhood experience of violence and sexual abuse, and would tend to also commit the same when they grow up.
Or, their pent-up aggressions come out uncontrollably that they flare up, coming out more aggressive, violent and fearful criminals. (PIA-7/Bohol)
