THE Davao City Integrated Gender and Development Office (IGDD) reported a decrease in the number of cases of Violence Against Women and Their Children (VAWC) in 2024 compared to 2023.
In a report by IGDD, the number of VAWC cases decreased from 2,707 cases in 2023 to 2,386 in 2024. From 2014 to 2024, the office recorded about 20,134 cases of VAWC in Davao City.
Of the 2,386 VAWC cases in 2024, 1,157 were walk-in clients, the majority were women.
Additionally, of the number of cases, 469 were physical abuse, 851 were emotional or psychological abuse, 90 were sexual abuse, and 976 were economic abuse.
Lorna Mandin, division head of IGDD, said there was a decrease in the cases from 2023 to 2024 attributed to the reopening of the economy following the lockdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mandin highlighted that among the types of abuse documented by their office, the highest was economic abuse, which reflected the struggles people faced with their livelihoods.
“Walay trabaho ang mga babae kaayo, daghan ang nawala sa trabaho so mura’g mag-translate siya nga pero dili nato na ginadawat na excuse (Many women were unemployed, and a lot have lost their jobs, so it seems like an excuse that we don't accept),” she said in an interview at the sidelines of the Kapehan sa Dabaw, on Monday morning, March 3, 2025, at SM City Davao.
Mandin said they follow a referral system, especially when reporting concerns regarding women and children. She said their office coordinates with the Davao City Police Office (DCPO) to address these concerns.
However, Jeanette L. Ampog, executive director of Talikala Foundation Inc., said that the number of VAWC cases in Davao City increased from January to February of this year, with incest and sexual harassment at work were the majority of cases. She said that this shows that perpetrators of sexual abuse are often not strangers to the victims, but individuals who are close to them.
Talikala also received reports of cases involving domestic violence, prostitution, and Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children (Osaec), with 2,641 cases recorded as of December 31, 2024, in Davao City.
Ampog emphasized that the situation of women in the community has not yet improved despite the existence of legislation and programs protecting women and children's rights.
She expressed that the disadvantages women face go beyond policies and programs but are rooted in the public's perception of women. She said that if the public continues to view women as inferior to men, the status of women in the community will remain the same.
“Mindset gyud ni siya. Kung nagatan-aw ta sa babae nga ubos ang iyang kahimtang kumpara sa kalalakin-an magpabilin ang babae nga walay klaro nga pamaagi sa pagpanginabuhi kay marginalized and mabutang gihapon siya sa women stereotype na trabaho,” she said.
(This is really a mindset; if we look at women as inferior compared to men, women will continue to have unclear means of livelihood because they are marginalized and placed into the stereotype of women’s job.)
The IGDD office is under the City Mayor’s Office (CMO) and has a budget of P13 million, with P5 million dedicated to general sensitivity training for employees. RGP