Anti-VAWC protects women from violence in all intimate settings —SC

The Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act protects all women and children from violence committed in an intimate relationship, the Supreme Court said Thursday.

“The illicitness of a relationship a woman engages in does not diminish her dignity in any way.  She will be protected just the same by the law that values her and her children’s dignity and guarantees full respect for their human rights,” it said in a statement.

In a decision, the High Court upheld a Permanent Protection Order (PPO) and denied the petition of a man who was the subject of a PPO to prevent further abuse against the respondents who are his live-in-partner and their children.

The SC said the man was 47 years old and was already married when he met the woman, who was then 20 years old, in 1979.

The petitioner argued that the Anti-VAWC law cannot provide relief for the respondent as they were not married.

He further said this would mean the law tolerates adulterous relationships.

The Supreme Court denied this, saying the law protects all women and their children from “various forms of violence and abuse committed within a setting of an intimate relationship.”—AOL, GMA News