BREAK THE SILENCE

ADVOCACY PLAN 2022

ANTI-DOMESTIC VIOLENCE COUNCILS
NSTP-CWTS 2

GROUP 2 - BSPSY 1A
Rufino, Aira Jheanne
Aquino, Allen Paul
Garlitos, Alexandrea
Luna, Alexandra Nicole
Dela Cruz, Carl Chris John
Alemania, Jasmine Grace
Bermillo, Mark Andrei
Cabanatan, Ren Arthur
Federio, Raigne Hershey
Villalon Jr. Dick Simon
➢ INTRODUCTION
○ Context of Advocacy Plan
■ While consciousness and understanding of violence against women
have considerably grown throughout the decade – with increase of
reporting noted among women in the last 13 years as well as
decreasing number of women who think that violence in the context
of intimate relationships are warranted – help-seeking behavior
among women who have experienced violence remain low. Even
among the women who choose to seek help, only 3 in 10 choose to
take the formal pathways and mechanisms offered by the
government. With this, why do we need to have an advocacy plan?
Honestly, we decided to make this advocacy plan so that we can
persuade people, specifically women – who are victims of domestic
violence to be encouraged to seek help and assistance from the
government. After all, the advocacy plan will be able to possibly
respond to newly identified needs for political support and spread
awareness in the community. That way, it will help more people to
feel more enabled to take control of their own lives and ask for
support and such. This will promote women’s rights and help them
explore the range of options open to them, thus clarifying the
particular course of action they should take, should they be a victim
or witness of domestic violence.

○ Issue/ Problem
■ In the Philippines, one in five women aged 15-49 have experienced
either physical and sexual violence, with the highest frequency of
physical violence experienced the past year, reported among young
women aged 15-19 years old (NDHS 2013). This type of violence is
skewed toward women. Violence occurs precisely because of their
gender, and the victims are women. Despite having a lot of
legislation that are related to VAW and were passed by the
Philippine government to protect the rights of women, there's still a
lot of women experiencing violence.

While the entire world was dealing with the contagious disease,
most people had to deal with more than just the disease. As soon
as the virus entered our country, the government enacted
quarantine legislation. Filipinos are forced to isolate themselves in
their own houses to avoid disease transmission. However, staying
at home and avoiding interaction caused more than just mental
stress; because of mobility restrictions, women and children
became easy targets for abuse and other forms of violence. It
appears to be a new epidemic in our midst. That the health
professionals are unprepared to handle. There have been
numerous reports of domestic violence and abuse. However, many
cases remain unreported, and the government has been unable to
provide adequate support.

Domestic violence is associated with a range of health problems

(Marcus & Braaf 2007) and is the single biggest health risk to
women aged 15 to 44 years (Access Economics 2004). In
2006–07, one in five homicides involved intimate partners and more
than half of all female victims were killed by their intimate partner
(Dearden & Jones 2008). Between 1989 and 1998, 57 percent of
female deaths caused by violence were perpetrated by an intimate
partner and women were five times more likely to be killed by their
partners than men (NSW Office for Women's Policy 2008).
Domestic violence has a significant impact on the general health
and wellbeing of individuals by causing physical injury, anxiety,
 depression, impairing social skills and increasing the likelihood that
they will engage in practices harmful to their health, such as self
harm or substance abuse (NSW Office for Women's Policy 2008).
Physical abuse also increases the risk of criminal offending and a
significant proportion of women in prison have experienced some
form of prior abuse, either as adults or children (NCRVWC 2009a)

○ Objectives
■ Improve the interpersonal communication skills, competency, and
capacities of frontline service providers and concerned authorities
from government and civil society organizations in providing
responsive, considerate, gender sensitive, and value-free services
to women through an integrated training and mentoring-coaching
program,
■ Create a comprehensive information hub for VAW services
available to women, and promote these services and interventions
via internet, social media, and mobile platforms.
■ Persuade women, especially those from unprivileged backgrounds,
to seek support and assistance from any of the authorized line
agencies by increasing their awareness and trust in protective
agencies and non-government groups available to them.
■ Strengthen supportive community-level procedures by organizing
and developing a support group and champions composed of
female victim-survivors who have benefited from protective services
provided by the government and VAW laws.
■ Continued campaigning and lobbying for changes of laws and
policies that are discriminatory and harmful to women, particularly
the effective use of the GAD budget as described in RA 9262 and
the Magna Carta for Women.

○ Core Message
 ■ The NDHS (2013) reports that violence against women remain
widespread, with one in five women aged 15-49 experiencing either
physical or sexual violence. Domestic Violence is a serious public
health problem in some countries. It affects more than one in three
women and over one million children each year. The health
consequences associated with such violence are debilitating, and
can interfere with an individual’s ability to make choices about
her/his health care. Domestic Violence is a significant cause of
preventable injury and death, both for men and women.
Advocating against domestic violence can help protect women,
men, and children from the physical and emotional damages
caused by this crime. As a result of these crimes, families are
destroyed, economies are weakened and communities are less
safe. The benefits of advocating against domestic violence include
individual empowerment and collective action, which leads to
health, safety and well-being for women. Everyone has the right to
live their lives free from abuse. Domestic violence has no place in
our society, and we are grateful to those brave individuals who
choose to speak out against abuse.

➢ Action Plan and Advocacy Campaign Activities

○ For Youth and Women
■ Regular orientation about Domestic Violence.
■ Print out campaign posters and distribute to NGO’s or LGU's / print
out emergency hotlines or organizational hotlines
■ Social media campaigning
■ Conduct workshops for self defense training

○ for survivors
■ Free mentoring and counseling program for the survivors to prevent
mental health issues due to Domestic Violence
 ■ Launch support groups.

1. Regular orientation about Domestic Violence

We plan to have a regular orientation about domestic violence. This plan
includes discussing what is domestic violence, giving them knowledge how to
recognize domestic abuse for them to know if they are being abused or are they
becoming the abuser. We will also let them know that we have a Critical Incident
Stress Management Unit (CISMU) which is the appropriate resource for
assistance for this particular matter. We will orient the survivors of domestic
abuse as well if ever they want to contact someone and seek help about their
mental health or someone to protect them against their abuser.
The main goal of this advocacy plan is to determine the
socio-demographic correlates of domestic violence, if any. And finding out the
perceptions of the females to cope with the act of violence and to overcome the
situation.

2. Print out campaign posters and distribute to NGO’s or LGU's / print out
emergency hotlines or organizational hotlines
Public awareness campaigns help educate the general public on specific
concerns. They have the power to bring issues to the table of public discourse, to
shift societal consciousness, and to persuade individuals to adjust their actions.
Domestic violence public awareness campaigns aim to educate members of the
community about the frequency of abuse, to urge individuals to take action to
promote social change, and to inform survivors of their options and resources.
Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM) is an excellent time to
design and execute a domestic violence public awareness campaign. Awareness
campaigns can be tied to an organization's DVAM operations and can run all
year or several years. They can vary in complexity from major, national
campaigns urging a certain sector of the public to participate in domestic violence
prevention to tiny, local initiatives stressing a local hotline number.
3. Social media campaigning
Having a social media presence has been increasingly widespread during
the last ten years. Social media is a strong tool that is always evolving, from
Facebook to Snapchat to Instagram and TikTok. Through social media we can
persuade and give them awareness about domestic violence, and by this we can
reach out to a lot of people in any nations, cultures and nationality. In addition we
can easily spread information and positivity.
The main goals of these are unifying your supporters, educating the
public, amplifying marginalized voices, starting well-informed conversations,
seizing public attention around these issues, or raising money for existing efforts.
Staff and facilitators will inform everything else – the intended audience(s),
messages, and communications strategy.
Creating a facebook page and posting some reliable information is one of
the considerable actions needed. Volunteers and facilitators will handle the page
and engage in different individuals in the society.

4. Conduct workshops for self defense training

Self – defense use is under legal jurisdictions called the “right to self –
defense”. In today’s world, it is very important to know how to protect yourself. It
doesn't matter what form or size your body is. The technique is based on body
mechanics concepts that allow anyone to generate enormous force. This does
not happen because of size or strength. Self-defense refers to the knowledge
and skills needed to defend yourself against crime or violence. Also it teaches
you how to physically and emotionally defend yourself. When you're in a stressful
circumstance, your mind reacts in a predictable way. Self-defense training
teaches you that rather than cowering or fleeing, the "natural" reaction is to
protect yourself. When you learn it, you develop the ability to protect yourself
from harm.
This organization hired some professional trainor to learn the proper way
on how to defend yourself physically. In this way, no one again will suffer from the
abuse coming from your family or your partner. Whether you carry a gun or
 another type of self-defense weapon, the purpose of self-defense is to live and
escape without being injured by deterring or preventing hostile conduct.
Self-defense gives you the tools and skills you need to confidently assess
a dangerous situation and navigate effectively. It improves your focus and
concentration and gives you the ability to learn basic moves. Self-defense helps
to develop your social skills. Thus by developing these social skills, you would
bring about a positive outlook for your point of view

5. Free mentoring and counseling program for the survivors to prevent mental
health issues due to Domestic Violence
There are many factors to consider the safety of the survivor and other
family members. That is why counseling is important. A counselor who is aware
of the process of the violence in a relationship will be able to understand the
clients.
As a counselor your task is to help your client think through all available
legal and social options to allow her to make the choices best for her. The legal
options open to a survivor of domestic violence depend on her personal situation
and on the laws of the country. You should be familiar with the laws so you can
assist your client in examining the options.
Mentoring and counseling services are provided to survivors of domestic
violence. This is a free service to help you strengthen your life outlook, cope with
stress and trauma, develop positive relationships, and plan for the future. The
program offers one-to-one mentoring and counseling services to survivors. The
aim is to break the cycle of domestic violence by supporting survivors and those
at risk of becoming victims. Our local counselors and mentors can help you feel
more in control, give you practical advice and offer a safe place to talk if you
need it.

6. Launch support groups

We are conducting support groups that may help both women and men to
seek out help especially when they are struggling mentally, emotionally, and also
physically. An advocacy that needs a volunteer speaker, facilitator, facility/event
place, and budget raise of thirty thousand pesos. This advocacy will start in June
2022, the month where opening of classes will start.
And we also have An online resource platform similar to an online map of
services and appointment system recommended so that the majority of
men/women who hesitate on approaching community-level services are provided
with alternative avenues to seek help.
The main goal of launching a support group is to help community
members understand the issues. They feel the pain and they want their
community back, but they don't know how. Support groups can be a great source
of help, both for the members and for their co-workers. Multidisciplinary working
is becoming more and more common, and people in technical fields often need
support too.