25 Nov International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (IDEVAW) 2022 Statement
This 25th of November, the Philippine Safe Abortion Advocacy Network (PINSAN) joins the women’s rights movement in observing the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (IDEVAW), which also marks the beginning of the 18-day annual campaign to end VAW in the Philippines.
Delegated by the United Nations General Assembly on the 17th of December 1999, IDEVAW is celebrated annually around the globe to heighten awareness on violence against women (VAW) and girls, and to strengthen the campaign to end it once and for all.
The Philippines’ observance of IDEVAW is all the more critical. Women and girls’ oppression in the country is not only alarmingly prevalent, but also multifaceted.
In the Philippines, 1 in 4 women, aged 15-49, has experienced physical, emotional, or sexual violence from their husband or partner. At the height of COVID-19 pandemic-related lockdowns, women and girls were trapped and rendered vulnerable in unsafe domestic environments, with little to no access to social services and emergency services. The number of rape cases in 2019 was 2,341, a 30.6% increase from 2018. However, as soon as lockdowns were in place, this number further decreased to 1,850 in 2020, a downward trend attributed to being unable to report crimes to authority due to strict lockdown restrictions.
The systematic denial, withholding, and obstruction of access to essential and life-saving reproductive health services, including access to safe abortion is another form of VAW. Forcing women and girls to continue a pregnancy has detrimental effects on their lives, and is a clear violation of their right to bodily autonomy and integrity. Around 610,000 induced, and potentially unsafe, abortions took place in the Philippines in 2012, an increase from 560,000 in 2008. Alarmingly, the number of women hospitalized for abortion complications increased from 90,000 in 2008 to 100,000 in 2012. Three women die each day due to unsafe abortion. In 2020, the UPPI estimated 1.26 million Filipino women who induced abortion risking their lives and health due to the restrictive abortion law and lack of access to safe abortion. Thus, the urgent need to decriminalize abortion in the country.
The ending of violence against women, and the decriminalization of abortion are matters of human rights and social justice, and should be fully supported by government. One victim is one too many, and could be prevented with a more concerted effort to uphold and protect the rights of people. However, in the year 2022, legislature regarding abortion remains draconian, and support systems remain insufficient, which leads to an inherently unsafe environment for women and girls.
The current restrictive abortion law violates women and girl’s human dignity by restricting freedoms to which individuals are entitled under the right to health, particularly with respect to decision-making and bodily integrity. When the government fails to provide remedies or measures to mitigate the physical or physiological harm associated with restrictive access to abortion services, the government itself tolerates, perpetuates, and commits violence against women and girls.
PINSAN’s call to end violence against women and girls and to decriminalize abortion remain strong, fervent, and unshakeable. We call on the people, organizations, and the Philippine government to not just support the campaign but also be part of it. No Filipino woman deserves to fear for her life in the very country she calls home.
End violence against women and girls! Decriminalize abortion now!
