BAGUIO CITY – Information campaign regarding violence against women (VAW) in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) has resulted in more cases being reported to authorities, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said Tuesday.
“The cases are fluctuating every year, but the different offices, institutions and agencies continue to receive cases which we positively view as a result of the information campaign conducted to apprise the women and children of their rights,” Cecil Basawil, assistant regional director for operations of DSWD-CAR, said during the launching of the 18-day Campaign to End VAW held at the DSWD-CAR training center here.
Based on DSWD-CAR data, 325 VAW cases were reported in the region in 2020; 471 in 2021; 1,012 in 2022; 874 in 2023; 1,186 in 2024; and 437 so far in 2025.
DSWD-CAR said 56 percent of the cases are domestic violence disaggregated as physical abuse (62 percent), psychological abuse (21 percent), economic abuse (10 percent) and sexual abuse (7 percent).
Victims usually belong to the age group 25 to 39 years old.
Basawil said only 35 percent of the cases reach the courts as most victims or survivors opt not to proceed with the charges.
“We deepen the call for a VAW-free Philippines by embracing a whole-of-nation approach that recognizes that ending gender-based violence is not the work of one agency, one sector or one community alone. It is a shared responsibility that calls all of us to rise, respond and act,” she said.
She added that the DSWD-CAR manages centers like the Regional Haven, which seeks to empower victims and survivors emotionally, economically and psychologically.
There are also centers managed by the private sector that also care for victims of abuses, Basawil said.
This year’s 18-day Campaign to End VAW, which will run from Nov. 25 to Dec. 12, aims to accelerate the implementation of the National Action Plan to End Violence Against Women, especially at the local level, according to the Philippine Commission on Women.
It also seeks to mobilize the youth to speak out against violence, raise awareness, and actively advocate for a VAW-free future; and empower men to be proactive allies by promoting respectful behavior, challenging harmful norms, and supporting gender equality.
“We join the nation in raising our voices against all forms of gender-based violence,” Basawil said. **Liza Agoot
