The Department of Agriculture (DA) is in solidarity with the observance of the 2024 18-Day Campaign to End Violence Against Women (VAW).

Article 1 of the United Nations (UN) Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women defines VAW as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.”

In 2023, the Philippine National Police (PNP) reported 11,585 VAW cases nationwide—over 8,055 or 70 percent of which violated the Republic Act No. 9262 or the Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act of 2004.

By virtue of Proclamation No. 1172, series of 2006, the advocacy campaign is observed every November 25 to December 12 with the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) as the lead agency. It aims to raise awareness and encourage public action against VAW, which is recognized globally as a major public health problem and a grave violation of human rights resulting from gender inequalities.

The 18-day campaign is also aligned with the Philippine government’s goal of protecting women’s and girls’ rights as mandated by the 1987 Constitution and the advocacies of the UN-led 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence every November 25 to December 10.

To learn more about this year’s 18-Day Campaign to End VAW, visit the PCW website: https://pcw.gov.ph/2024-18-day-campaign-to-end-violence-against-women/. ### (Krystelle Ymari A. Vergara, DA-AFID)