Solon files bill protecting husbands, partners vs. violence

A lawmaker has filed a bill at the House of Representatives seeking to protect partners or spouses, including husbands, and their children against violence.

House Bill 4888, filed by Rizal Representative FIdel Nograles, aims to amend the RA 9262 or the Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004 by expanding its coverage from women to all those who experience acts of violence from their partners.

"This bill shall prohibit all forms of violence against partners and their children, in private and public life, and provides maximum protection and effective remedies for victims and punishment of offenders," Nograles said in the explanatory note of his bill.

"This bill also expands the covered acts under RA 9262 to include electronic violence done against partners and their children," he added.

Under the measure, violence against partners and their children is defined as "any act or a series of acts committed by any person against their spouses, former spouse, partner, former partner, or against any other person with whom they have or had a sexual or dating relationship, or with whom they have a common child, or against the other person's child whether legitimate or illegitimate, within or without the family abode, which result in or is likely to result in physical, sexual, psychological harm or suffering, or economic abuse including threats of such acts, battery, assault, coercion, harassment or arbitrary deprivation of liberty."

The term "partner," however, does not necessarily refer to heterosexual ones, but also to lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, intersex, cisgender, and transgender partners.

Psychological violence also includes electronic or information communication technology (ICT)-related violence, which refers to any act involving exploitation of data or any form of ICT that causes or may cause "mental, emotional, or psychological distress or suffering to the partners and their children."

These acts include "stalking, hacking of personal accounts on social media, use of location data from electronic devices, fabrication of fake information or news through text messages or other cyber, electronic, or multimedia technology."

The bill also considers as a "special aggravating circumstance" any acts of violence considered as hate crimes against partners and their children, including discrimination due to sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.

At the same time, it also declares November 25 of every year as the "National Consciousness Day For the Elimination Of Violence Against Women, Children And Marginalized Genders."

"In view of the foregoing, the passage of this bill is respectfully requested," Nograles said. —RSJ/KBK, GMA News