Citation:
Abstract:
Since 1995, violence against women (VAW) has captured the attention of the government and legislators in the Philippines as a result of the demand of a growing women’s human rights movement and the State Obligation of the Philippine Government under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, its Optional Protocol as well as other international conventions. The Beijing Conference on Women in 1995 heightened the demand of women’s rights advocates for laws protecting women from violence all over the world.
Progressive reforms in laws protecting women were brought about by several factors beginning with the democratization process that started in the 1986 People Power Revolution after the fall of the Marcos dictatorship, the 1987 Constitution that has specific provisions on the rights of women and fundamental equality before the law of men and women, the increasing number of women’s organizations in the provinces with links to Metro Manila based women’s human rights organizations, and the participation of women legislations who are becoming increasingly aware of the need for gender equality and the elimination of VAW. This period marks the contribution of women legislators who were elected in the 1992 elections and thereafter.