Filipino Feminism

Filipino Sexuality and Gender

So what does feminism mean ?
Quite simply, feminism is about all genders
having equal rights and opportunities.
It’s about respecting diverse women’s
experiences, identities, knowledge and strengths,
and striving to empower all women to realize their
full rights. It’s about levelling the playing field
between genders, and ensuring that diverse
women and girls have the same opportunities in
life available to boys and men.
Outline of the Presentation

I. Introduction

II. Women’s Safety Module in the National Demographic and

Health Survey (NDHS)

III. Results from the Women’s Safety Module

IV. Challenges in the measurement of VAW

V. Ways Forward
I. Introduction

Per National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB)

Resolution No. 6, Series of 2001, Violence against Women
(VAW) is defined as…

“an act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to

result in, physical, sexual, or psychological harm or suffering
to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary
deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private
life. It encompasses all forms of violation of women’s rights,
including threats and reprisals, exploitation, harassment, and
other forms of control.”
II. Women’s Safety Module in the NDHS
2008 NDHS Women’s Safety Module (WSM)
• a separate module added for the first time, which probes into
women’s experiences of violence – physical and sexual

• information on spousal violence – covering all forms of VAW was

also collected:
1. physical violence;
2. sexual violence;
3. emotional violence; and Grouped together in the survey
4. economic violence as “Other forms of violence”
• respondents were women aged 15 – 49 who were either:
a. never married;
b. married or living together; or
c. divorced/separated/widowed.
 II. Women’s Safety Module in the NDHS

Section Data Collected

1. Violence Experienced Physical Violence

by women aged 15-49 • Percentage of women who have ever experienced physical violence since aged
15
• Persons who committed the violence
• Percentage of women who have ever experienced physical violence during
pregnancy

Sexual Violence
• Percentage who said that their first experience of sexual intercourse was
forced against their will
• Percentage of women who have ever experienced sexual violence

2. Measures of Marital • Percentage of ever-married women whose husbands have ever exhibited
Control specific types of controlling behavior
Controlling behaviors exhibited by husbands were:
1) to be jealous or angry when women communicate with other men;
2) frequently accuses of unfaithfulness;
3) does not permit to see her female friends;
4) tries to limit contact with families;
5) insists on knowing where she is at all times; and
6) does not trust her with the money.
 II. Women’s Safety Module in the NDHS

Section Data Collected

3. Marital Violence • Percentage of ever-married who have experienced

specific forms of violence committed by their husband
- currently married women were asked about 7 specific
acts of physical violence, 4 forms of sexual violence
and 7 other forms of violence including emotional
violence within the marriage

Frequency of Spousal Violence

• Frequency of spousal violence among those who reported
violence

Consequences of Spousal Violence

- respondents are asked if, as a consequence of what their
husband did to them, they ever had:
1) physical injuries
2) loss of job
3) depression
4) attempted suicide
 II. Women’s Safety Module in the NDHS

Section Data Collected

4. Violence Initiated by Women Against • Percentage of women who ever initiated

Husbands violence against their husband
• Percentage of women who have committed
physical violence against their husband

5. Response to Violence • Percentage of women who fought back

physically, fought back verbally or sought
help from any source to stop the violence
• Sources from which help was sought
 II. Women’s Safety Module in the NDHS

Three Specific Built-in Protection in WSM

1) Only one eligible woman in each HH is asked of VAW

2) Informed consent was obtained before start of individual

interview; additional statement before start of WSM
informing respondent that succeeding questions could be
sensitive and reassuring confidentiality of responses

3) WSM was implemented only in privacy; if privacy could

not be obtained, skip module, thank the respondent and
end the interview
III. Results from the Women’s Safety Module

Now…

• What do the results of the 2008 NDHS tell us?

• What are the challenges faced by women in the Philippines?

•How much do they suffer?

•Who are the perpetrators of VAW?

 III. Results from the Women’s Safety Module

• One in five women aged 15 - 49 experienced physical violence since the age 15!
• Almost one in 10 women aged 15-49 experienced sexual violence since age 15!

Percentage of Women aged 15-49 who have ex-

perienced violence since age 15
25
20.1
20
15
10 8.7
5
0
Physical Violence Sexual Violence
Source: 2008 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), National Statistics Office (NSO)
 III. Results from the Women’s Safety Module
Persons committing physical violence
It is very alarming to know that women in the Philippines are not safe even in their own homes!
• For women who have ever been married, the main perpetrators of physical violence are their husbands.
• Among never-married women, the main perpetrators are the mothers, fathers,
sisters/brothers and current boyfriends.

Percentage who reported specific persons who committed the violence,

by marital status, Philippines 2008
Marital Status
Person committing violence
Ever married Never Married Total

Current husband 54.7 na 46.8

Former husband 12.1 na 10.3
Former boyfriend 0.6 0.6 0.6
Current boyfriend 0.3 19.8 3.1
Father/step-father 16.6 25.9 17.9
Mother/step-mother 18.5 34.5 20.8
Sister/brother 9.3 21.0 11.0
Daughter/son
Source: 2008 National Demographic and Health0.9 0.0 Office (NSO)
Survey (NDHS), National Statistics 0.8
 III. Results from the Women’s Safety Module
Persons committing sexual violence
• Similar to physical violence, the current husband/partner is the main perpetrator
of sexual violence, accounting for 60.5% of the cases!
• While among the never married women, 58% experience sexual violence at the
hands of their current boyfriend.

Percentage who reported specific persons who committed the violence,

by current marital status, Philippines 2008
Marital Status
Person committing violence
Ever married Never Married Total

Current husband 60.5 na 52.9

Former husband 15.2 na 13.3
Current boyfriend 4.4 57.7 11.1
Former boyfriend 0.1 0.0 0.1
Father/step-father 0.5 1.8 0.7
Employer/someone at work 7.0 5.5 6.8
Source: 2008 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), National Statistics Office (NSO)
III. Results from the Women’s Safety Module
Among the ever-married women, 14.4% of them experience physical
violence perpetrated by their husbands.
Forms of Spousal Physical Violence

Source: 2008 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), National Statistics Office (NSO)
 III. Results from the Women’s Safety Module
While for sexual violence, 8.0% of the ever-married women
experience such violence perpetrated by their husbands.
Forms of Spousal Sexual Violence

Source: 2008 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), National Statistics Office (NSO)
 III. Results from the Women’s Safety Module
Most common forms include insulting the woman or making her feel bad about
herself, 11%, followed by not allowing her to engage in any legitimate work nor
practice her profession, 9%.
Forms of Spousal Emotional/Economic Violence

11

Source: 2008 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), National Statistics Office (NSO)
 III. Results from the Women’s Safety Module

Almost 4 out of 100 pregnant women experience physical violence!

Sadly, this does not only put the mother at risk, but also the unborn child.

Violence during Pregnancy

Percentage who have

ever experienced Number of women who
Marital Status
physical violence during have ever been pregnant
pregnancy

Never married 2.5 111

Married or living together 3.3 6,160
Divorced/separated/
widowed 8.2 390
Total 3.6 6,661
Source: 2008 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), National Statistics Office (NSO)
 III. Results from the Women’s Safety Module
Degree of marital control exercised by husband
Most commonly reported controlling behavior exhibited by husband is: jealousy
or anger when the woman communicates with other men.
Percentage of ever-married women age 15-49 whose husbands have ever exhibited specific types
of controlling behaviors, by current age
Percentage of women whose husband:
Is jealous Frequently Does not Tries to Insists on Does not
or angry if accuses permit her limit her knowing trust her
Background
she talks her of of being contact with where she with any
characteristics
to other being unfaithful her family is at all money
men unfaithful times
Current age
15-19 44.5 15.7 8.9 3.7 25.0 3.7
20-24 35.2 12.0 6.9 4.7 20.8 4.8
25-29 32.3 14.6 7.4 3.6 18.6 5.5
30-39 29.7 11.7 5.4 3.8 17.4 4.8
40-49 26.2 12.4 5.1 4.3 15.8 4.2
Total 30.3 12.6 5.9 4.0 17.8 4.8
Source: 2008 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), National Statistics Office (NSO)
 III. Results from the Women’s Safety Module

Among women who have ever experienced physical or sexual violence…

• 26.9% fought back verbally;

• 21.2% fought back physically; and
• 17.5% sought help

Response to Violence

Sought help from a

Fought back Fought back
Type of violence source to stop
physically verbally
violence
Physical 18.8 24.6 13.8
Sexual 15.5 22.1 13.6
Both physical and
sexual 32.0 37.2 30.9
Total 21.2 26.9 17.5
Source: 2008 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), National Statistics Office (NSO)
 III. Results from the Women’s Safety Module
Sources from which help was sought
• Among all those who sought help, women are most likely to have sought help from their
own family at 45%, while 29% of them sought help from friends
• Only 9.3% and 6.0% of them sought help from the police and social service
organizations.
Percentage who sought help from specific sources, by type of violence experienced
Type of violence
Source of help
Physical Sexual Both physical and sexual Total

Own family 45.0 54.0 42.5 45.1

In-laws 15.8 8.2 14.9 14.5
Husband/partner boyfriend 1.0 0.0 0.9 0.8
Friend/neighbor 26.4 23.9 32.6 28.5
Religious leader 0.0 0.0 0.7 0.3
Doctor/medical personnel 2.0 0.0 3.4 2.3
Police 7.4 8.1 12.3 9.3
Lawyer 1.5 3.9 0.8 1.5
Social service organization
Source: 2008 National Demographic4.8
and Health Survey 0.0 9.2 (NSO)
(NDHS), National Statistics Office 6.0
IV. Challenges in the measurement of VAW

Collecting valid, reliable, and ethical information on violence poses

challenges because:

1. What constitutes violence or abuse varies across cultures and

individuals;

2. Culture of silence surrounds domestic violence that can affect

reporting;

3. Specific ethical concerns - sensitivity of topic, safety of respondents

and interviewers when asking about domestic violence in a familial
setting, and protection of women disclosing violence
V. Ways Forward

In measuring VAW…

• Establish and plan tools and procedures by using sets of specific

questions for women

• Ensure confidentiality and privacy during the interview

• Ensure the validity of the information on domestic violence

• Ensure the security of the respondent as well as the interviewer

 V. Ways Forward

• Last August 2013, the Philippines NSO has conducted the tenth
NDHS, which again included the Women’s Safety Module. Prior to its
inclusion, series of consultative forums to solicit comments and
suggestions were conducted.

• Recognizing the need to institutionalize collection of VAW statistics,

the Philippine Statistical Development Program (PSDP) 2011-2017,
specifically the Chapter on Statistics on Children and Gender
Development, included the institutionalization of the Women’s Safety
Module in the NDHS as one of its statistical programs.

• Further review of the objectives and questionnaire of the Module and

expansion of its coverage were also included the PSDP.