Republic Act 9262 Anti-Violence Against
condition.
Women and their Children (VAWC) Act
of 2004
WHAT IS REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9262?
 Seeks to address the prevalence of violence against
women and their children (VAWC) by their intimate
partners like:
o Husband or ex-husband
o Live-in partner or former live-in partner
o Boyfriend/girlfriend or ex-boyfriend/ex-
girlfriend
o Dating partner or former dating partner
 Classifies VAWC as a public crime.
WHAT IS VAWC UNDER RA 9262?
It refers to any act or series of acts committed by any person
against a woman who is
o wife
o former wife
o against a woman with whom the person has or
had sexual or dating relationship
o with whom he has a common child
o against the woman’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.
VAWC includes, but is not limited to the following acts:
1. Physical Violence
2. Sexual Violence
3. Psychological Violence
4. Economic Abuse
Who gets protected under the law?
1. Woman and her children
2. Victim-child
3. Any child under the care of the woman
DEFINITION OF TERMS
Woman - Refers to offender’s wife, former wife, or a woman
with whom he has or had sexual or dating relationship, or with
whom he has a common child.
Children
(Definition under RA No. 9262) Refers to those below 18 years
of age or older but are incapable of taking care of themselves
as defined under RA No. 7610. It includes the biological
children of the victim (the woman with whom the offender has
or had marital, sexual or dating relationship) whether
legitimate, or illegitimate within or without the family abode.
Children
(Definition under RA No. 7610) Refers to those below 18 years
of age or older but are unable to fully take care of themselves,
or protect themselves from abuse, neglect, cruelty, exploitation
or discrimination because of a physical or mental disability or
A Woman’s “Child” Under RA. No. 9262:
1. The biological child of the woman with whom the accused
has/had marital, sexual or dating relationship; or
2. Under her care.
Note: Lack of relationship between the child and the offender
will not exclude the former from the coverage of RA No.
9262.
Sexual Relations
Refers to a single sexual act which may or may not result in
the bearing of a common child.
Dating Relationship
Refers to a situation wherein the parties live as husband and
wife without the benefit of marriage or are romantically
involved over time and on a continuing basis during the
course of the relationship. A casual acquaintance or ordinary
socialization between two individuals in a business or social
context is not a dating relationship.
Former Wife
The term “former wife” and the use of the past tense “had” in
the phrase “a woman with whom he has or had sexual or
dating relationship” mean that in RA No. 9262 protects the
woman, who has a former marital, sexual or dating
relationship with the offender.
SPECIFIC ACTS OF VIOLENCE UNDER SEC. 3
1. Sexual Violence - an act which is sexual in nature,
committed against a woman or her child
a.)
▪ rape,
▪ sexual harassment,
▪ acts of lasciviousness,
▪ treating a woman or her child as a sex
object,
▪ making demeaning and sexually suggestive
remarks,
▪ physically attacking the sexual parts of the
victim's body,
▪ forcing her/him to watch obscene
publications and indecent shows or
▪ forcing the woman or her child to do
indecent acts and/or make films thereof,
▪ forcing the wife and mistress/lover to live
in the conjugal home or sleep together in
the same room with the abuser;
b.) Acts causing or attempting to cause the victim to
engage in any sexual activity by:
▪ force,
▪ threat of force
 ▪ physical or other harm or
▪ threat of physical or other harm or
▪ coercion
c.) Prostituting the woman or child
2. Psychological Violence - acts or omissions causing or likely
to cause mental or emotional suffering of the victim such as but
not limited to:
▪ intimidation
▪ harassment
▪ stalking
▪ damage to property
▪ public ridicule or humiliation
▪ repeated verbal abuse and
▪ mental infidelity
It includes causing or allowing the victim to:
▪ witness the physical, sexual or psychological
abuse of a member of the family to which the
victim belongs, or
▪ to witness pornography in any form or to
witness abusive injury to pets or
▪ to unlawful or unwanted deprivation of the
right to custody and/or visitation of common
children
3. Economic Abuse - acts that make or attempt to make a
woman financially dependent which includes, but is not limited
to the following:
a.) withdrawal of financial support or preventing the victim
from engaging in any legitimate profession, occupation,
business or activity,
▪ EXCEPT: in cases wherein the
other spouse/partner objects on
valid, serious and moral grounds as
defined in Article 73 of the Family
Code;
b.) deprivation or threat of deprivation of financial resources
and the right to the use and enjoyment of the conjugal,
community or property owned in common;
c.) destroying household property;
d.) controlling the victims' own money or properties or solely
controlling the conjugal money or properties.
SPECIFIC ACTS OF VIOLENCE UNDER SEC. 5
Physical Harm
 Section 5(a) if the physical harm inflicted upon the
woman or her child is constitutive of slight, less
serious or serious physical injuries.
 Section 6 for qualified serious physical injuries
where the victim becomes insane, imbecile, impotent
or blind under Art. 263 of the RPC
 Section 5(i) if the physical violence in which the
offender is purposely engaged in causes mental or
emotional anguish, public ridicule or humiliation to
the woman or her child.
Physical Harm under the RPC
the Revised Penal Code – if physical harm is constitutive of
attempted, frustrated or consummated parricide or murder or
homicide, or resulted in consummated mutilation, as provided
in Section 6(a) of RA 9262.
Threat to Inflict Physical Harm
 Section 5(b) - against the woman with whom the
offender has or had marital, sexual or dating
relationship or her child.
Attempt to Inflict Physical Harm
 Section 5(c) -physical harm is attempted. 
 Section 5(a) - physical harm is consummated.
Fear of Imminent Physical Harm
 Section 5(c) -commits an overt act that clearly
reveals his intention to inflict physical harm upon the
victim. 
 Section 6(d) if the act committed by the offender did
not clearly show his real intention, but it placed the
victim in fear of imminent physical harm.
Physical Harm to Control the Woman
 Section 5 (a) if the prosecution proved beyond
reasonable doubt that the accused caused physical
harm upon his wife but failed to establish that the
harm was inflicted to control the movement of the
victim, the Court can still convict.
Deprivation of Custody
 Section 5 (e) - restricts or restricting the woman’s or
her child’s freedom of movement or attempting to
compel or compelling the victim to engage or desist
from engaging in conduct by deprivation of custody. 
o form of coercion
Deprivation of Financial Support
 Section 5 (e) when the deprivation of financial
support (or providing insufficient support) 
⎯ purpose / with the effect of:  controlling or
restricting the woman’s or her child’s
movement or conduct
⎯ a form of coercion.
  Elements (Melgar vs People):
(a) Offender and woman had a romantic relationship,
resulting in child's birth;  or access to the children or similar· such acts or
(b) Offender freely acknowledged his paternity over
child;  Testimony of the Offended Party Is Indispensable
(c) Offender had failed to provide child support ever
since the latter was just a year old; and  the perpetrator
(d) his intent of not supporting child was made  
apparent  caused to or the damage sustained by the offended
Hurting or Threatening to Hurt Himself
 Section 5 (f)
⎯ - purpose of controlling her actions or
decisions
⎯ - emotional maltreatment, which is
constitutive of child abuse under Section
10(a) of RA No. 7610 in relation to Section 3
(b) (1).
Sexual Violence against Woman or Her Child
 Section 5 (g) when the accused causes or attempting
to cause the woman or her child to engage in any
sexual activity which does not constitute rape, by
force or threat of force, physical harm, or through
intimidation directed against the woman or her child
or his/her immediate family. 
Substantial Emotional or Psychological Distress
 Section 5(h) - can be committed through recklessness.
 Elements (Ang vs Hon. CA):
1. The offender has or had a sexual or dating
relationship with the offended woman;
2. The offender, by himself or through another,
commits an act or series of acts of harassment against
the woman; and
3. The harassment alarms or causes substantial
emotional or psychological distress to her.
Emotional Anguish, Public Ridicule or Humiliation –
Section 5(i)
 Elements (Dinamling v. People; AAA vs BBB):
(1) The offended party is a woman and/or her child or
children;
(2) The woman is either the wife or former wife of the
offender, or is a woman with whom the offender has or
had a sexual or dating relationship, or is a woman with
whom such offender has a common child. As for the
woman's child or children, they may be legitimate or
illegitimate, or living within or without the family abode;
(3) The offender causes on the woman and/or child mental
or emotional anguish; and
(4) The anguish is caused through acts of public ridicule
or humiliation, repeated verbal and emotional abuse,
denial of financial support or custody of minor children
omissions.
 Psychological violence – is the means employed by
Mental or Emotional Anguish – is the effect
party
 Thus, to establish mental or emotional anguish, it is
necessary to present the testimony of the victim as
such experiences are personal to this party.
MODIFYING CIRCUMSTANCES & SUPPLETORY
APPLICATION OF RPC
Sec. 47 of RA 9262 expressly provides for the suppletory
application of the RPC. Thus, modifying circumstances
under the RPC must be considered.
RA 9262 also provides special aggravating circumstances
in Sec. 6 which are NOT subject to the offset rule.
» the penalty shall be imposed in the MAXIMUM
period if aby of the following is present (Dinamling
v. People):
 If the acts of violence were committed
against the woman, with whom the offender
has a marital, sexual or dating relationship,
in the presence of her child
 If the acts punishable are committed while
the woman or child is pregnant
Rules of Penalties
The penalties used are from the RPC, hence, the rules of
penalties including the modifying circumstances and the ISL
shall follow those of the RPC Rules. Section 6 says that when
the crime results to or constitutes parricide, murder or
homicide in any stage of accomplishment, or to mutilation, it
shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the
RPC. The law appears to favor absorption, just like in RA
7610.
Sec. 1 of Act No. 4103,68 otherwise known as the
Indeterminate Sentence Law (ISL), provides that if he offense
is ostensibly punished under a special law, the minimum and
maximum prison term of the indeterminate sentence shall not
be beyond what the special law prescribed. Be that as it may,
the Court had clarified in the landmark ruling of People v.
Simon that the situation is different where although the
offense is defined in a special law, the penalty therefore is
taken from the technical nomenclature in the RPC.
Under such circumstance, the legal effects under the system of
penalties native to the Code would also necessarily apply to the
special law. In other words, the ascertainment of the
indeterminate sentence will be based on the rules applied for
those crimes punished by the RPC, not by rules for SPL.
WHERE TO FILE/PROCESS
 1.
Victims
who are
found by
courts to
be
suffering
from
Battered
Woman

PROTECTIVE POLICIES UNDER THE LAW Syndrome (BWS) under Sec. 26

 » no criminal/civil liability even with no justifying circumstance of self-
defense under RPC
2. Protection Orders (Sec. 8) – issued to prevent further acts of violence against a
woman or her child and granting other necessary relief
» to be enforced by law enforcement agencies
» these are:
 BPO (barangay protection order)
 TPO (temporary protection order)
 PPO (permanent protection order)
» relief granted even without :
▪ decree of legal separation/annulment
▪ declaration of nullity of marriage
» protection granted ex parte
Who may file Petition for Protection Orders?
Under Sec. 9 it may be filed by any of the following:
(a) the offended party;
(b) parents or guardians of the offended party;
(c) ascendants, descendants or collateral relatives within the fourth civil degree of
consanguinity or affinity;
(d) officers or social workers of the DSWD or social workers of local government
units (LGUs);
(e) police officers, preferably those in charge of women and children's desks;
(f) Punong Barangay or Barangay Kagawad;
(g) lawyer, counselor, therapist or healthcare provider of the petitioner;
(h) At least two (2) concerned responsible citizens of the city or municipality where
the violence against women and their children occurred and who has personal
knowledge of the offense committed
▪ Protection orders ar enforceable anywhere in the Philippines
▪ violation fine : P 5,000.00 – P50,000.00 and/or
WHAT IS BATTERED WOMAN SYNDROME?
⎯ refers to a scientifically defined pattern of psychological and behavioral
symptoms found in women living in battering relationships as a result of
cumulative abuse. (Sec. 3c)
⎯ Battery refers to an act of inflicting physical harm upon the woman or her
child resulting to the physical and psychological or emotional distress.
(Sec. 3b)
⎯ Cumulative means resulting from successive addition.
▪ ELEMENTS OF BATTERED WOMAN SYNDROME:
1. That the battering husband, with whom the battered wife has a
marital, sexual or dating relationship, inflicted physical harm upon
her
2. That the infliction of physical harm must be cumulative
3. That the cumulative abuse results to physical and psychological or
emotional distress to the woman
HOW TO DETERMINE IF A WOMAN IS SUFFERING FROM BATTERED
WOMAN SYNDROME?
⎯ The courts shall be assisted by expert psychiatrists/ psychologists.
⎯ Four Characteristics of the Syndrome:
(1) The woman believes that the violence was her fault;
(2) She has an inability to place the responsibility for the violence
elsewhere;
(3) She fears for her life and/or her children’s life
(4) She has an irrational belief that the abuser is omnipresent and
omniscient.
CYCLE OF VIOLENCE
Battered woman syndrome is characterized by the so-called “cycle of violence”,
which has three (3) phases (Boado):

▪ Imprisonment: 6 months 1. Tension Building phase

 minor battering occurs

 verbal or slight physical abuse or another form of hostile behavior.
BATTERED WOMAN SYNDROME
  woman tries to pacify the batterer which, however, legitimizes his
belief that he has the right to abuse her
2. Acute Battering Incident
 characterized by brutality, destructiveness and, sometimes, death
 battered woman deems this incident as unpredictable, yet also
inevitable
 At this stage, she has a sense of detachment from the attack and the
terrible pain
 often very savage and out of control, such that innocent bystanders or
intervenors are likely to get hurt
3. Tranquil, Loving  (or, at least, nonviolent) phase
 the final phase of the cycle of violence begins when the acute battering
incident ends
 couple experience profound relief
 on the one hand, the batterer may show a tender and nurturing
behavior towards his partner
BATTERED WOMAN SYNDROME AS A DEFENSE (Sec. 26)
 form of self defense which is a justifying circumstance
 if already suffering from the syndrome, further evidence of actual physical
assault at the time of the killing – not required
 To justify the killing the following must be present:
1.) Each of the phases of the cycle of violence must be proven to have
characterized at least two battering episodes between the appellant and her
intimate partner.
2.) The final acute battering episode preceding the killing of the batterer
must have produced in the battered person's mind an actual fear of an
imminent harm from her batterer and an honest belief that she needed to
use force in order to save her life.
3.) At the time of the killing, the batterer must have posed probable -not
necessarily immediate and actual grave harm to the accused, based on the
history of violence perpetrated by the former against the latter.
MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES IN FAVOR OF THE BATTERED
WOMAN (Campanilla)
If invocation of self-defense fails, the BATTERED WOMAN SYNDROME may
give rise to 2 mitigating circumstances:
(a) psychological paralysis 
diminution of freedom of action, intelligence or intent analogous to illness
that diminishes exercise of will power without depriving her of
consciousness of her acts
arose from the cynical nature and severity of battery
(b) passion and obfuscation 
this state of mind is present when a crime is committed as a result of an
uncontrollable burst of passion provoked by prior unjust or improper acts
or by a legitimate stimulus so powerful as to overcome reason , like acute
battering incident
NOTE:
The essence of battered woman syndrome as a defense is that a battered woman,
who suffers from physical and psychological or emotional distress, is acting under
an irresistible impulse to defend herself although at the time of commission of the
crime the batterer has not yet committed unlawful aggression.
COMPARISON OF RA 9262 FROM RA 7610 AND OTHER LAWS
 Under RA 7610, only minors can be considered victims of the enumerated
forms of abuses therein. Meanwhile, the Anti-VAWC law limits the
victims of sexual abuses covered by the RA 7610 to a wife, former wife, or
any women with whom the offender has had a dating or sexual relationship,
or against her child.
 Under RA 9262, it covers any act or series by any person against his wife,
former wife, or one with whom the person has/had sexual or dating
relationship, or with whom he has a common child, or against her 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. While the
RA 7610 is specific on protection to children who is defined by law,
persons below 18 years of age and those unable to fully take care of
themselves or protect themselves from abuse, neglect, cruelty, exploitation
or discrimination because of their physical or mental disability or
condition. The law covers not only a situation in which a child is abused for
profit, but also other forms of sexual abuse of children. 
 In RA 9262, the law punishes any act that is likely to result in physical,
sexual, psychological harm or suffering or economic abuse while the RA
7610, punishes those who commit sexual intercourse or lascivious conduct
with a child exploited in prostitution or subjected to other sexual abuse
such as child prostitution, child trafficking and attempt at child trafficking,
obscene publications and indecent shows, and/or other acts of abuse -
discrimination against children of indigenous cultural communities. 
 In Republic Act No. 9344 or known as AN ACT ESTABLISHING A
COMPREHENSIVE JUVENILE JUSTICE AND WELFARE SYSTEM,
CREATING THE JUVENILE JUSTICE AND WELFARE COUNCIL
UNDER THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, APPROPRIATING
FUNDS THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES, was legislated to
fulfill  (1) its constitutional obligation to protect children (especially the
poor Filipino children who have less in life and whose infractions are
mostly theft; clearly they commit crimes as a desperate measure to
survive), and (2) the nation’s commitment to the Convention on the Rights
of the Child.
 The law does not allow children who are 15 years old and below and who
commit crimes to go “scot-free.” What the law provides is a different
process for them to be made accountable. They are not “released” simply
because they cannot be criminally charged; they can be “institutionalized,”
a form of deprivation of liberty, for a more focused intervention and
reformation. Thus, It prioritizes rehabilitation and not imprisonment.
 In Sexual Harassment Law, what is different from it to RA 9262 is that it
specifically it punishes not the violation of the employee’s sexuality but the
abuse of power by the employer. Any employee, male or female, may
rightfully cry “foul” provided the claim is well substantiated.

ILLUSTRATIVE CASES