THE Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) suggested that husbands and other male adults should be the one to undergo seminar on Republic Act 9262 or Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act of 2004 as they are the ones who committed abuses against the women.
Based on the records of CCPO in 2021, 362 women and children were victims of abuse, of which 157 fell under the Violence Against Women and Children Act of 2004, 117 under Republic Act 7610 or Child Abuse Law, 39 under Republic Act 336 or Acts of Lasciviousness and 49 for rape.
Majority of the victims of molestations were aged 13, the youngest of whom was three.
This year from January to February, the CCPO listed 34 abuses against women.
Lieutenant Colonel Wilbert Parilla, deputy director for operations of CCPO, said that husbands should be made aware that there is a law that protects women and children.
“When I was a chief of police, what I did was to seminar the men and not the women because the former are the ones who will commit the crime. So if they are already educated and aware of the consequences if they abuse their partners they will never commit a crime,” Parilla said.
Parilla believed that a lot of abuses that took place inside the home without being reported to the police was committed by the husbands.
Parilla said some female victims, especially those who belong to prominent families, were ashamed of their fate and chose to remain silent to save their marriage for the sake of their children.
The deputy director urged female victims of abuse to complain to them and assured to protect their privacy.
He said it was difficult to solve domestic violence if the victim herself would not complain to the police. (AYB, TPT)