New directions and trends

human rights documents. This is demonstrated in the Domestic Adoption Act which declares in s 2(b) that the best interest of the child is paramount �in accordance with the tenets set forth in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child; UN Declaration on Social and Legal Principles Relating to the Protection and Welfare of Children with Special Reference to Foster Placement and Adop­tion, Nationally and Internationally; and the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Inter-country Adoption'.

Still reeling from 21 years of political repression and Marcos' secret decrees, there is now a deliberate effort to set standards through legal and legislative reforms. Interestingly, the courts have played an essential role in speeding up this process. To illustrate, in the case of People v Genosa^[1230] the Supreme Court recognised that battered woman syndrome exists as a post-traumatic stress dis­order and it allowed a partial reopening of that case to admit evidence of the presence of the said disorder. The Court declared that the syndrome might qual­ify as a justifying circumstance, provided some conditions are present. The case displayed the legal artistry of the Justices and the limits of statutory construction in accommodating battered woman syndrome. The Court, however, noted that that the lack of a law on domestic violence did not allow it to go further, as the Court can only do what the law empowered it to do.

In response to this, Congress enacted the Anti-VAWCAct, and with it domestic violence law has undergone significant transformation. Not only did the Act give more protection to casualties of domestic violence, butit also recognisedbattered woman syndrome as a justifying circumstance.

Another trend is the establishment of legal institutions to carry out these legal directives. The Philippine National Police Reform and Reorganization Act of 1998^[1231] required the formation of women's desks in all police stations throughout the country to administer and attend to cases involving crimes against chastity, sexual harassment, abuses committed against women and children and other similar offences. In 2008 the number of violence-against-women (VAW) cases reported to the police rose by21 per cent from the 2007 report - a trend whichwas expected to go further upwards.^[1232] Physical injuries and wife battering remain the most common cases, accounting for about half (49.6%) of all reported VAW cases nationwide.^[1233]

The Rehabilitation Unit of the Department of Social Welfare and Development operates a 24-hour Crisis Intervention Unit, which receives walk-in, refereed and rescued individuals and families in crisis situations. It also serves as a venue providing integrated services that include psychosocial services and a limited number of temporary shelters staffed by social workers who are trained coun­sellors. The Department of Health and local government units are tasked with providing support in terms of counselling, rehabilitation programs and livelihood assistance. The Anti-VAWC Act directs barangay officials and courts to conduct hearings on applications for protection orders.^[1234]

Further, there is now an emphasis on the education and training of the various state representatives. Although there are women's desks, many police officers who receive complaints or respond to the scene of a family disturbance lack knowledge of the pervasiveness and patterns of domestic abuse and cling to the conventional belief that what is merely a domestic spat should be insulated from state intervention.

Finally, one legacy of the people power uprising is the enlarged legal space for communities and the increased voice of civil societies. While there were support groups for women and children victims before the Anti-VAWC Act became law, these were spontaneous responses to fill in the lacuna in national programs. The Anti-VAWC Act makes domestic violence a public crime that may be prosecuted upon a complaint filed by an individual with personal knowledge of such an incident. It has paved the way for support and advocacy groups to intervene on behalf of victims, given that the law requires that requests for assistance from a victim have to be immediately reported to government offices such as the Department of Social Work and Development or the social welfare departments of local government units.^[1235]

The ChildAbuseLaw^[1236] has also established safeguards for the rights of abused, neglected and exploited children by expanding the list of persons authorised to file a complaint to include responsible members of the community.^[1237] Moreover, although the newly minted Magna Carta of Women^[1238] has identified the Philip­pine Government as the primary duty-bearer in implementing the said law, it underscores the role played by the private sector and society in general, in the recognition and promotion of the rights of women guaranteed in the law.^[1239]

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