Statement of the Problem

This study will be conducted to determine the level of domestic violence and its

effect on women’s mental wellness in Koronadal City during the year 2021-2022.

Specifically, it will try to answer the following questions:

1. What is the profile of the respondents in terms of their:

1.1 Age;

1.2 Civil Status;

1.3 Educational Level; and

1.4 Family Structure?

2. What is the level of domestic violence on women in terms of:

2.1 Emotional Abuse;

2.2 Physical Abuse;

2.3 Sexual Abuse; and

2.4 Financial Abuse?

3. What is the effect of domestic violence on women’s mental wellness in terms of:

3.1 Anxiety;

3.2 Depression;

3.3 Post-Traumatic Stress; and

3.4 Phobias?

Page 1 of 22
4. Is there a significant relationship between the level of domestic violence and its effect

on women’s mental wellness?

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 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter discusses the related literatures which are useful and necessary in

providing essential backgrounds information of the study. It includes articles from books,

journals, unpublished thesis, and from internet which were found to have bearing to this

study.

Foreign Literature

Domestic violence often occured when the abuser believed that abuse was an

entitlement, acceptable, justified, or unlikely to be reported. It might produce an

intergenerational cycle of violence in children and other family members, who might feel

that such violence was acceptable or condoned. Many people did not recognize

themselves as abusers or victims because they might consider their experiences as

family conflicts that got out of control. Awareness, perception, definition and

documentation of domestic violence differed widely from country to country. Domestic

violence often happened in the context of force or child marriage (Postmus, 2012).

In abusive relationships, there might be a cycle of abuse during which tensions

rose and an act of violence was committed, followed by a period of reconciliation and

calm. The victims might be trapped in domestically violent situations through isolation,

power and control, traumatic bonding to the abuser, cultural acceptance, lack of

financial resources, fear, shame, or to protect children. As a result of abuse, victims

might experience physical disabilities, dysregulated aggression, chronic health

problems, mental illness, limited finances, and a poor ability to create healthy

Page 3 of 22
relationships. Victims might experience severe psychological disorders, such as

posttraumatic stress disorder. Children who lived in a household with violence often

showed psychological problems from an early age, such as avoidance, hypervigilance

to threats, and dysregulated aggression which might contribute to vicarious

traumatization (Mercy, 2012).

Traditionally, domestic violence (DV) was mostly associated with physical

violence. Terms such as wife abuse, wife beating, wife battering, and battered woman

were used, but had declined in popularity due to efforts to include unmarried partners,

abuse other than physical, female perpetrators, and same-sex relationships. Domestic

violence is now commonly defined broadly to include "all acts of physical, sexual,

psychological or economic violence" that might be committed by a family member or

intimate partner (Bhandaris, 2010).

Physical abuse was that involving contact intended to cause fear, pain, injury,

other physical suffering or bodily harm. In the context of coercive control, physical

abuse was to control the victim. The dynamics of physical abuse in a relationship were

often complex. Physical violence could be the culmination of other abusive behavior,

such as threats, intimidation, and restriction of victim self-determination through

isolation, manipulation and other limitations of personal freedom. Denying medical care,

sleep deprivation, and forced drug or alcohol use, were also forms of physical abuse. It

could also include inflicting physical injury onto other targets, such as children or pets, in

order to cause emotional harm to the victim (Plummer, 2012).

Sexual abuse, is defined by World Health Organization as any sexual act,

attempt to obtain a sexual act, unwanted sexual comments or advances, or acts to

Page 4 of 22
traffic, or otherwise directed, against a person's sexuality using coercion. It also

included obligatory inspection for virginity and female genital mutilation. Aside from

initiation of the sexual act through physical force, sexual abuse occured if a person was

verbally pressured into consenting, unable to understand the nature or condition of the

act, unable to decline participation, or unable to communicate unwillingness to engage

in the sexual act. This could be because of underage immaturity, illness, disability, or

the influence of alcohol or other drugs, or due to intimidation or pressure (Stark, 2017).

Emotional abuse (or psychological abuse) is a pattern of behavior that threatens,

intimidates, dehumanizes or systematically undermines self-worth. According to the

Istanbul Convention, psychological violence was "the intentional conduct of seriously

impairing a person's psychological integrity through coercion or threats". Emotional

abuse included minimizing, threats, isolation, public humiliation, unrelenting criticism,

constant personal devaluation, coercive control, repeated stonewalling and gas lighting.

Stalking was a common form of psychological intimidation, and was most often

perpetrated by former or current intimate partners. Victims tended to feel their partner

has nearly total control over them, greatly affecting the power dynamic in a relationship,

empowering the perpetrator, and disempowering the victim. Victims often suffered from

depression, putting them at increased risk of eating disorders, suicide, and drug and

alcohol abuse(Adams, 2013).

According to Violence against Women in Families and Relationships, "Globally,

wife-beating is seen as justified in some circumstances by a majority of the population in

various countries, most commonly in situations of actual or suspected infidelity by wives

or their "disobedience" toward a husband or partner." These violent acts against a wife

Page 5 of 22
were often not considered a form of abuse by society (both men and women) but were

considered to have been provoked by the behavior of the wife, who was seen as being

at fault. While beatings of wives were often a response to "inappropriate" behaviors, in

many places extreme acts such as honor killings were approved by a high section of the

society. In one survey, 33.4% of teenagers in Jordan's capital city, Amman, approved of

honor killings. This survey was carried in the capital of Jordan, which was much more

liberal than other parts of the country; the researchers said that "We would expect that

in the more rural and traditional parts of Jordan, support for honor killings would be even

higher" (Vikse, 2013).

Local customs and traditions were often responsible for maintaining certain forms

of DV. Such customs and traditions included son preference (the desire of a family to

have a boy and not a girl, which was strongly prevalent in parts of Asia), which could

lead to abuse and neglect of girls by disappointed family members; child and forced

marriages; dowry; the hierarchic caste system which stigmatized "lower castes" and

"untouchables", leading to discrimination and restricted opportunities of the females and

thus making them more vulnerable to abuse; strict dress codes for women that might be

enforced through violence by family members; strong requirement of female virginity

before the wedding and violence related to non-conforming women and girls; taboos

about menstruation leading to females being isolated and shunned during the time of

menstruation; female genital mutilation (FGM); ideologies of marital 'conjugal rights' to

sex which justify marital rape; the importance given to 'family honor' (Sanders, 2010).

According to Sullivan, Egan, & Gooch (2014), it was suggested that 275 million

children in the world and more than 10 million children in the United States witnessed

Page 6 of 22
domestic violence. Stephens reported (1999) that an estimated 3.3 million and up to 10

million children annually in the United States witnessed domestic violence. Children’s

Fund (2006) suggested that 275 million children across the world witnessed domestic

violence on average in a year. The impact of domestic violence on children who

witnessed these events could be devastating and put these children at a greater risk of

being abused themselves. Evidence showed a correlation between the occurrences of

domestic violence with threats to a child’s safety, and the numbers of calls or reports to

Child Protection Services. The number of calls or reports to CPS could directly impact

the child’s ability to remain within the home or with their family. Child protection

authorities were being involved more routinely in cases of domestic violence, which had

led to them using interventions up to and including removing the child from the home.

Regarding the consequences of domestic violence on the victim, the impact on their

children was far reaching; there were numerous psychological effects for the children

who witnessed this abuse. Children were experiencing delays in cognitive and

emotional development, extreme withdrawal or aggressiveness, anxiety disorders, as

well as internalizing and externalizing behavior problems (Carson, 2009).

Local Literature

Domestic abuse was a long-standing and contentious issue in the Philippines

before the coronavirus crisis: despite having several laws protecting women and

children from violence and historically a strong movement for women’s rights, Philippine

society still largely regarded domestic abuse as a “family problem” which could be

settled in the confines of the home, and did not see it as very urgent to rescue and

Page 7 of 22
protect the victims of abuse. Having a president infamous for his rape jokes and other

anti-women remarks, and being a predominantly Catholic country, which frowns upon

divorce as a way for some women to end abusive marital relationships, further added to

the problem (Peña, 2020).

In the Philippines, economic abuse was more predictive of depression and other

mental health disorders than other forms of abuse. This association had not been

adequately investigated in spite its relevance for mental illness prevention. Intimate

partner violence (IPV) was one of the most common forms of violence against women

that was performed by a husband or an intimate male partner. It was a serious public

health problem associated with physical, reproductive, and mental health

consequences. The global dimensions of IPV were alarming, with about 15–71% of

women reporting experiencing IPV over their lifetime. Various forms of abuse generally

coexist within the same relationship; however, reported estimates were sensitive to

definitions used, the manner in which questions were asked, the degree of privacy

during interviews, and the gender norms of the population. IPV was commonly

conceptualized as a pattern of coercive behaviours in a relationship whereby one

partner used tactics of power and control over the other partner over a period of time.

Despite the abundant literature on the different types of abuse, very few have focused

on economic abuse, with scholars stressing the need to include economic abuse as a

form of IPV, given the nature of behaviours such as employment sabotage, economic

control, and economic exploitation (Garcia-Moreno, 2015).

In the Philippines, related to economic abuse, in addition to physical, sexual, and

psychological abuse, was a common tactic of control in IPV that was as common as

Page 8 of 22
physical and psychological abuse. Defined as the “control of a woman’s ability to

acquire, use, and maintain economic resources, thus threatening her economic security

and potential for self-sufficiency”, it was a coercive behaviour that made the victim

economically dependent on her partner and at greater risk of continued abuse. By

controlling women’s ability to acquire, use, and maintain economic resources, economic

abuse threatened victims’ economic security and ability to achieve economic

independence. To establish a state of economic dependence, an abuser might take

“control” of a woman’s resources by preventing her from obtaining and maintaining

employment outside the home, causing her job absence or loss by showing up at her

work place; preventing women’s use of existing resources by controlling resource

distribution and use, denying them access to joint bank accounts or financial

information; and exploiting a woman’s resources by stealing her money, creating costs,

and generating debt, thereby depleting her economic resources. Economic abuse could

lead to poverty, which, in turn, was a risk factor for further economic abuse. In addition

to creating financial dependence, economic abuse created a “hostile” environment

where the abused woman was continually psychological distressed and anxious about

material or financial issues. As the victim’s financial dependence on the abuser

increases, leaving the relationship becomes more difficult (Lindon, 2012).

In the Philippines, domestic violence (DV) or intimate partner abuse, spousal

abuse, intimate partner violence (IPV), and domestic abuse -- took many forms.

Maltreatment that took place in the context of any romantic relationship was abuse as

described by the above specific terms. It therefore affected men, women, or teen girls

and boys, whether in a married or unmarried heterosexual or homosexual relationship.

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Intimate partner violence might consist of one or more forms, including emotional,

psychological, physical, sexual, or economic abuse and was defined as one person in

an intimate relationship using any means to put down or otherwise control the other.

Types of domestic abuse included physical, verbal (also called emotional, mental, or

psychological abuse), sexual, economic/financial, and spiritual abuse. Stalking and

cyber-stalking were also forms of intimate partner abuse (Herrera, 2010).

Physically abusive behaviors in the Philippines included assault of any kind,

ranging from pinching, pushing, hitting, or slapping to choking, shooting, stabbing, and

murder. Verbal, emotional, mental, or psychological violence was described as using

words to criticize, demean, or otherwise decrease the confidence of the wife, husband,

or other intimate partner victim. Sexual abuse referred to any behavior that uses sex to

control or demean the victim, like intimidating the victim into engaging in unsafe sex or

sexual practices in which he or she did not want to participate. Economic or financial

abuse was described as threatening or otherwise limiting the victim's financial freedom

or security. Spiritual abusers either forced the victim to participate in the batterer's

religious practices instead of their own or to raise mutual children in a religion that the

victim was not in favor of. Stalking referred to repeatedly harassing and threatening

behavior, including showing up at the victim's home or workplace, placing harassing

phone calls, voicemail, email or postal mail messages, leaving unwanted items, or

vandalizing the victim's property. It was usually committed by perpetrators of other

forms of domestic violence (Moreno, 2014).

The domestic violence in the Philippines was a major public health problem in

that it affected millions of people and often resulted in physical and emotional injuries

Page 10 of 22
and even deaths. Media reporting of celebrities' domestic abuse victimization

demonstrated that even the most accomplished individuals could be involved in this

problem. The statistics about those who were affected by intimate partner violence were

staggering; domestic abuse affected 3%-5% of current adult relationships in the United

States, including more than 2 million women. Despite this issue disproportionately

affecting women, the myth that violence against men did not occur was incorrect;

800,000 men were victims of intimate partner abuse. Nearly one-third of women could

expect to be the victim of intimate partner violence sometime in their lifetime. About

25% of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals were victims of

intimate partner abuse, just as often as were heterosexual women. About 1,300 deaths

were attributed to domestic abuse as of 2003. More than 50% of women murdered were

the result of domestic violence, most often using a gun. About 4%-9% of men were

killed as victims of domestic violence (Perez, 2015).

Teen intimate partner abuse took place at an alarming rate in the Philippines.

Facts about domestic violence in this group included that as many as 12% of

adolescents in grades 7 through 12 had been victims of physical dating violence, and

20% of youth had suffered from psychological dating violence. This abuse put victims in

danger of practicing risky sexual behavior, unhealthy eating, drug used, and suicidal

behaviors. Other complications could include physical injury and death. These victims

were also more likely to become sufferers of intimate partner violence as adults (Murali,

2014).

LGBT people in the Philippines often faced unique challenges when trying to

cope with domestic-abuse victimization. The assumption by family, friends, co-workers,

Page 11 of 22
and professionals that abuse was mutual in homosexual couples or is an expected part

of what was perceived as a dysfunctional relationship since it was not heterosexual,

posed major obstacles to battered LGBT individuals in getting help. Other barriers for

LGBT battered men and women included the fear of losing their jobs, home, and/or

custody of their children should their sexual orientation become known in the context of

getting help for intimate partner abuse. That LGBT individuals did not receive the legal

and financial protections their heterosexual counterparts do could inhibit their ability to

support themselves and lived independently after leaving the abuser. Discrimination

against LGBT people and other minorities was also a deterrent to receiving care.

Another formidable obstacle included a lack of knowing other admitted LGBT victims of

domestic violence, as well as the smallness of the community, which could make it

difficult for battered men and women in the LGBT community to live anonymously from

their abuser in the same town (Dean, 2010).

In the Philippines, there were tended to be a cycle of behavior, known as the

cycle of violence, in abusive relationships. That cycle included the tension-building,

explosive, and tranquility/honeymoon stages. The tension-building stage was described

as the phase of the abusive relationship in which the abuser tended to engage in lower-

level abuse, like pushing, insulting, coercive behaviors, and escalating demands for

control. Simultaneously, the victim of abuse tended to try to appease the abuser in an

effort to avoid worsening of the abuse. Acts of abuse escalated to a severe level during

the explosive stage of intimate partner violence, manifesting as the most overt and

serious acts of abuse and control, like slapping, punching, inhibiting the movements of

the victim, rape, or other sexual violence. The tranquility or honeymoon stage of the

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cycle of domestic violence tended to immediately follow the overt acts of aggression of

the explosive stage and was usually characterized by the abuser seeming to be quite

remorseful and apologetic for the abuse, making promises that it would never happen

again and showering the victim with affection (Lopez, 2016).

In the Philippines, domestic violence was a major contributor to physical and mental

ill health of women and was evident, to some degree, in every society in the world. The

World Health Organization reports that globally 29% to 62% of women had experienced

physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner. Ending gender discrimination and all

forms of violence against women required an understanding of the prevailing culture of bias

and violence. The present study was conducted in a rural area in India. Focus group

discussions (FGDs) were conducted among married women in the age group of 18 to 35

years. Physical violence was a major cause of concern among these women. Some women

had to suffer even during pregnancy. An alcoholic husband emerged as the main cause for

domestic violence. Husbands' relatives instigating wife beating was also common. Majority

of the women preferred to remain silent despite being victimized. The women feared to

resort to law because of implications such as social isolation. To address this, all sectors

including education, health, legal, and judicial must work in liaison. Gender inequality must

be eliminated and equal participation of women in the decision-making and development

processes must be ensured (Basile, 2014).

The Philippines has ratified and adopted several international instruments that

pertain to the human rights of women including the United Nations (UN) Convention on

the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (UN n.d.), the Vienna

Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (1993) and the Beijing

Page 13 of 22
Platform for Action (1995). With respect to domestic legislation, Republic Act (RA) 9262

(referred to as the Anti-violence against Women and their Children Act) was introduced

in 2004. The Act criminalized physical, sexual and psychological violence against

women and children, as well as economic abuse. It also criminalized violence against

any woman with whom a man had an intimate relationship, not only a wife. The law was

gender-specific and applied only to women and their children (Guanzon, 2018).

Yet in the Philippines, 1 in 20 women and girls age 15-49 had experienced

sexual violence in their lifetime, according to the 2017 National Demographic and

Health Survey. Violence against women and girls undermined the health, dignity,

security and autonomy of its victims, yet it remained shrouded in a culture of silence.

The health consequences of violence were enormous and included permanent

disability, unwanted pregnancies, lingering psychological trauma, sexually transmitted

infections including HIV, and even death (Martin, 2011).

In partnership with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD),

and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Ministry of

Social Services, UNFPA prioritized strengthening policies and protection mechanisms to

prevent and respond to gender-based violence, in normal settings and in the aftermath

of an emergency. During these emergencies, UNFPA worked closely with the DSWD

and the Department of Health to coordinate the delivery of humanitarian assistance to

meet the specific needs of women and girls and support survivors of gender-based

violence. These included establishing Women-Friendly Spaces, clinical and

psychological support, a referral pathway to access services, and capacity building

(Pilar, 2010).

Page 14 of 22
Foreign Studies

One review of studies found the odds of experiencing PTSD was about seven

times higher for women who had been victims of domestic violence than those who had

not. The likelihood of developing depression was 2.7 times greater, anxiety four times

greater, and drug and alcohol misuse six times greater. The likelihood of having suicidal

thoughts was 3.5 times greater for women who had experienced domestic violence than

those who hadn’t (Pirkis, 2015).

An Australian study of 1,257 female patients visiting GPS found women who

were depressed were 5.8 times more likely to have experienced physical, emotional or

sexual abuse than women who were not depressed. Not only was domestic violence

and abuse a risk factor for psychological disorders, but women who had pre-existing

mental health issues were more likely to be targets for domestic abusers. Women who

were receiving mental health services for depression, anxiety and PTSD, for instance,

were at higher risk of experiencing domestic violence compared to women who did not

have these disorders (Crittenden, 2012).

One study found only 15% of mental health practitioners routinely enquired about

domestic violence. Some 60% reported a lack of knowledge about domestic violence,

while 27% believed they did not have adequate referral resources. One-quarter (27%)

of mental health practitioners provided women experiencing domestic violence with

information about support services and 23% made a referral to counselling. In the

absence of direct questioning, survivors of domestic violence were reluctant to disclose

abuse to health service providers. If mental health providers were managing the

Page 15 of 22
symptoms of the mental illness but ignoring the cause of the trauma, treatment was less

likely to be successful. Practitioners needed to routinely ask women about present or

past incidents of domestic violence if they were diagnosed as depressed or anxious, or

if they show any other signs of mental distress (Kernic, 2010).

One study found out that the United Nations Population Fund found violence

against women and girls to be one of the most prevalent human rights violations

worldwide, stating that "one in three women will experience physical or sexual abuse in

her lifetime." Violence against women tended to be less prevalent in developed Western

nations, and more normalized in the developing world. Wife beating was made illegal

nationally in the United States by 1920. Although, the exact rates were disputed, there

was a large body of cross-cultural evidence that women were subjected to domestic

violence significantly more often than men. In addition, there was broad consensus that

women were more often subjected to severe forms of abuse and were more likely to be

injured by an abusive partner, and this was exacerbated by economic or social

dependence (Wheaton, 2014).

Research on men and domestic violence focused on men as both perpetrators

and victims of violence, as well as on how to involve men and boys in anti-violence

work. Domestic violence against men included physical, emotional and sexual forms of

abuse, including mutual violence. Male domestic violence victims might be reluctant to

get help for various reasons. One study investigated whether women who assaulted

their male partners were more likely to avoid arrest even when the male contacts police,

and found that, "police are particularly unlikely to arrest women who assault their male

partners." The reason being that they "assume that the man can protect himself from his

Page 16 of 22
female partner and that a woman's violence is not dangerous unless she assaults

someone other than her partner". Another study concluded there was "some support for

qualitative research suggesting that court personnel are responsive to the gendered

asymmetry of intimate partner violence, and might view female intimate violence

perpetrators more as victims than offenders (Phillips, 2010).

A recent study reported that in sub-saharan Africa 38% of women justfied the

abuse compared to Europe which had 29%, and South Asia having the highest number

with 47% of women justifying the abuse. These high rates could be due to the fact that

in lower economically developed countries, women were subject to societal norms and

were subject to tradition so therefore were scared to go against that tradition as they

would receive backlash whereas in higher economically developed countries, women

were more educated and therefore would not conform to those traditions which restrict

their basic human rights. According to a 2003 report by Human Rights Watch, "Customs

such as the payment of 'bride price' (payment made by a man to the family of a woman

he wishes to marry), whereby a man essentially purchases his wife's sexual favors and

reproductive capacity,” underscored men's socially sanctioned entitlement to dictate the

terms of sex, and to use force to do so (Edwards, 2010).

World Health Organization (WHO) has defined domestic violence as “the range

of sexually, psychologically and physically coercive acts used against adult and

adolescent women by current or former male intimate partners”. Violence was often not

restricted to the current husband, but may extend to boyfriends, former husbands and

other family members such as parents, siblings and in-laws. Domestic violence against

women was highly prevalent in India and the women usually try to hide it. Particularly

Page 17 of 22
wife beating or physical mistreatment was a very common phenomenon in many Indian

homes. The percentage of women who were exposed to violence by their husbands

was 45% in India. Despite this widespread prevalence, such violence was not

customarily acknowledged and had remained invisible. Background conditions of

females were found to play a significant role in domestic violence (Bacchus, 2013).

Local Studies

One of the studies found out that the magnitude and characteristics of domestic

violence in an urban community in the Philippines, using an ecological framework that

tried to link individual, family and community factors. In particular, this study had sought

to determine the prevalence of domestic violence and established significant

associations among identified risk factors and violence perpetrated by spouses in urban

Filipino families. A random community survey was conducted among ever-partnered

women aged 15–49 years and residing in selected barangays in Paco, Manila. The

World SAFE (World Studies of Abuse in Family Environment) standardized instrument

and field methods, translated and pre-tested in Tagalog, were used to collect the data.

Information was gathered via interviews conducted by trained enumerators. The results

indicated that 47.2 percent of the women respondents had experienced psychological

and physical violence at the hands of their intimate partners during their lifetimes.

Twenty-nine percent experienced domestic violence perpetrated by their current

partners in the past year. Of the latter, about 31 percent suffered physical maltreatment

and 68 percent experienced psychological abuse. The leading types of physical

maltreatment were repeated slapping, kicking and beating, even during pregnancy.

Page 18 of 22
Major psychological abuse included insulting, belittling and use of threats (Barestero,

2013).

Using a nationally representative data from the Philippines, this study built on the

only other available study in three key ways. First, the study was novel in that it

determined the differential association of economic, physical, and psychological abuse

on psychological distress and suicide attempts; no previous studies had previously

examined this relationship. Second, they considered the effect of controlling for socio

demographic characteristics, and third, they accounted for the effects of co-occurring

mental disorders, by performing sensitivity analyses that explored the potential role of

comorbidity with the other mental health outcome to assess whether the added

experience with the other mental health outcome led to higher levels of the mental

health outcome being examined. Finally, they provided empirical evidence on the

relationship between forms of abuse and mental health consequences originating from

a low- and middle-income context, given that previous evidence had originated from

high-income contexts, which did not necessarily reflected cultural differences within low-

middle-income contexts such as the Philippines where the cultural context was

important in determining power dynamics in IPV and shaping how relationship power

was related to the risk of mental health consequences of IPV (Angelo, 2013).

The most prevalent mental health consequences reported in the past two

decades had been depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and anxiety.

Despite psychological distress being commonly used as an indicator of the mental

health status of a population in public health, it was still a relatively vague concept.

Psychological distress was defined as “a state of emotional suffering characterized by

Page 19 of 22
undifferentiated combinations of symptoms ranging from depression and general

anxiety to personality traits, functional disabilities, and behavioural problems”.

Associated with somatic symptoms such as insomnia, headaches, lack of energy often

varied across cultures, psychological distress had been variedly described as an

emotional disturbance that might impact on the social functioning and day-to-day living

of individuals. It was a medical concern, especially when accompanied by other

symptoms that, together, satisfied the diagnostic criteria for a psychiatric disorder.

Serious psychological distress was reported to be highest (15.4%) among women

exposed to lifetime physical and sexual IPV compared to those not exposed to among

those with no lifetime experience of IPV (Reyes, 2010).

Evidence indicated a complex relationship between IPV and depression, suicide

attempts, and other common mental disorders, which tended to be context-specific.

There was a strong positive association between IPV and suicidal behaviours in women

and psychological distress in both high- and lower-income settings. Traumatic stress

caused fear and isolation, which in turn might lead to depression and suicidal behaviour,

thus becoming the main mechanism by which IPV might cause depression and suicide

attempts. This relationship was reported to be bidirectional in that women with severe

mental health difficulties were more likely to experience violent victimization. Although it

was clear that violence must precede completed suicides, most studies on violence and

suicide actually measured suicide attempts, which could precede violent experiences.

Evidence from longitudinal studies also showed that violent experiences might lead to

greater psychological distress, which might also interfere with economic wellbeing. The

link between economic abuse and depression had not been well identified. Coercive

Page 20 of 22
control theory portrayed an abuser as one who attempted to gain power and control

insidiously over his/her partner by using a variety of control tactics, including violence

with the aim of coercing her to become economically dependent on him alone. It was

plausible that having a partner control access to financial resources or preventing

economic independence through work or school adversely affects a woman’s mental

health, especially when such experience was long term. Although money might not be a

guarantor of mental wellbeing, nor does its lack necessarily led to mental illness,

poverty could be both a determinant and a consequence of poor mental health (Astino,

2013).

Consistent with other studies, we found that women having a partner with

controlling behaviour were more likely to attempt suicide and to experience

psychological distress as in, implying that coercive control was intimately relevant for

the development of suicide risk in abused women. Our finding that women resident in

rural areas were more likely to experience psychological distress was consistent with

other studies. This was a complex finding that warrants further research. Evidence from

studies conducted in developed countries was contradictory about the elevated risk of

suicide associated with rural residence. However, rurality as a risk factor had been

explained in terms of socioeconomic stressors associated with the unpredictability of

earning a living from farming and access to means (particularly firearms) (Sareno,

2011).

In the Philippines, the study noted that the online volume between April and

September 2020 grew for search queries such as “how to stop domestic violence,”

“being raped,” “sexual assault,” “Owwa [Overseas Workers Welfare Administration]

Page 21 of 22
helpline,” “whipped with belt,” and “emotionally abusive husband.” The data showed

searches per 100,000 people for violence against women and girls (VAWG) in the

Philippines reached 1,048, the third highest among the countries included in the study.

The highest was in Singapore at 6,299 and Malaysia at 2,396. India was a far fourth at

612 online searches per 100,000 people; Nepal, 463; Indonesia, 232; Bangladesh, 178;

and Thailand, 175. Help-seeking searches related to VAWG increased 10 percent in the

Philippines since Covid-19. The average search volume for help-seeking keywords

reached 1,735 since the pandemic (Leona, 2014).

ONLINE searches relating to domestic abuse had risen significantly in the

Philippines between October 2019 and September 2020, according to the United

Nations Women (UN Women). In the report titled, “Covid-19 and Violence against

Women: The Evidence behind the Talk,” UN Women partnered with the United Nations

Population Fund (UNFPA) and analytics company Quilt. These online searches surged

63 percent in the Philippines. These online searches included specific references to

“men hitting women,” “spouse abuse,” “boyfriend hit me,” and “controlling men” or

“controlling husband.” “The so-called ‘shadow pandemic’ of violence against women

and girls under lockdown was widely recognized by now, and this analysis proves what

we had long anticipated” (Rodeo, 2016).

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