measuring violence against women: the philippine experience

1 NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARDIntegrity • Independence • Professionalism

AJGC/ NSCB/ International Seminar on Gender StatisticsSheraton Incheon Hotel/ 12 – 14 November 2013

Measuring Violence against Women:

The Philippine Experience

International Seminar on Gender StatisticsSheraton Incheon Hotel, Republic of Korea12 – 14 November 2013

by

Ms. Anna Jean G. CasañasStatistical Coordination OfficerNational Statistical Coordination Board



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



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.”

I. Introduction



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 4. economic violence

•respondents were women aged 15 – 49 who were either:

a. never married;b. married or living together; orc. divorced/separated/widowed.

II. Women’s Safety Module in the NDHS

Grouped together in the survey as “Other forms of violence”



Section Data Collected

1. Violence Experienced by women aged 15-49

Physical Violence • 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 Control

• Percentage of ever-married women whose husbands have ever exhibited 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.





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





4. Violence Initiated by Women Against Husbands

• Percentage of women who ever initiated 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




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




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?




• 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!


Source: 2008 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), National Statistics Office (NSO)



Persons committing physical violence

Percentage who reported specific persons who committed the violence, by marital status, Philippines 2008

Person committing violenceMarital Status

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 0.9 0.0 0.8

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.





Persons committing sexual violence

Percentage who reported specific persons who committed the violence, by current marital status, Philippines 2008

Person committing violenceMarital Status

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

• 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.





Forms of Spousal Physical Violence

8

9



Among the ever-married women, 14.4% of them experience physical violence perpetrated by their husbands.



Forms of Spousal Sexual Violence

6



While for sexual violence, 8.0% of the ever-married womenexperience such violence perpetrated by their husbands.



Forms of Spousal Emotional/Economic Violence

11

9



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%.



Violence during Pregnancy


Marital Status

Percentage who have ever experienced

physical violence during pregnancy

Number of women who have ever been pregnant

Never married 2.5 111

Married or living together 3.3 6,160

Divorced/separated/widowed 8.2 390

Total 3.6 6,661


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.



Degree of marital control exercised by husband

Percentage of ever-married women age 15-49 whose husbands have ever exhibited specific types of controlling behaviors, by current age

Backgroundcharacteristics

Percentage of women whose husband:

Is jealous or angry if

she talks to other men

Frequently accuses

her of being

unfaithful

Does not permit her of being

unfaithful

Tries to limit her contact

with her family

Insists on knowing

where she is at all times

Does not trust her with any money

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

Most commonly reported controlling behavior exhibited by husband is: jealousy or anger when the woman communicates with other men.





Response to Violence



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

Type of violenceFought back

physicallyFought back

verbally

Sought help from a source to stop

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



Sources from which help was sought

Percentage who sought help from specific sources, by type of violence experienced

Source of helpType of violence

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 4.8 0.0 9.2 6.0

• 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.





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

IV. Challenges in the measurement of VAW



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.

V. Ways Forward



Mabuhay and Thank you!

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measuring violence against women: the philippine experience

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