Awareness of Women on VAWC (RA 9262): Basis for Information Dissemination on Women’s Rights Program

Abstract

The study aims to determine the awareness of women on Republic Act 9262, the Anti -Violence Against Women and their Children Act of 2004. It also aims to describe the profile of the respondents in terms of: age, civil status, number of children, educational attainment, present work, monthly family income and sources of IEC; the level of awareness on intimate partner violence in RA 9262; the relationship between the sources of IEC materials and level of awareness of the respondents; the relationship between the profile and level of awareness on intimate partner violence in RA 9262; the perceived seminar and training need to alleviate their condition; and the perception on government agencies needed to provide help and support. The methodology was quantitative. Purposive sampling was used to identify 202 respondents who were at least 18 years old and living with a partner or husband. The majority of respondents were 25-65 years old, married, with 0-3 children, a high school degree, and a monthly salary of 5,001- 10,000.00. The respondents stated that they learned about intimate partner abuse by watching television. The majority of respondents were aware of RA 9262's reference to intimate relationship abuse. On RA 9262, there was a strong association between the respondents' forms of information, education, and communication (IEC), civil status, number of children, educational achievement, and degree of awareness. This study shows that comprehensive knowledge of RA 9262 through IEC modalities is required to ensure the safety of women and children. Training program on women’s rights, seminar on child protection and livelihood training are the top three perceived training needs of the respondents in which the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Philippine National Police (PNP), Department of Health (DOH) and State Universities and Colleges (SUC) are the government agencies needed to provide the trainings needs of the respondents.