From the Outside Looking In: Observations from the FGD

Feeling our Bases

Before doing the formal talk on VAWC, our group first conducted a focus group discussion to determine the level of preparedness of our participants for the talk. We first wanted to get their own impressions about the matter before we bombarded them with the law and our own inputs concerning it. In conducting the FGD, we applied a hands-off policy. Recognizing the sensitivity of the topics they were to discuss, we wanted the participants to be able to share in an environment that was as private and as confidential as can be. Thus, we limited our role to facilitating the flow of the discussion and entertaining questions, if there were any.

The FGD we conducted was four-part. First, we endeavored to determine the participants’ opinion on the status of women in society. Second, we aimed for them to make their own evaluation of their roles in society. Third, we encouraged them to share their own encounters with violence and fourth, we made them draw up their specific proposals to their barangays for a community-based response to violence against women and their children. Specifically, the FGD delved on the participants’ understanding of their own rights and duties in society and the ways they could use it to uniquely address the problems in their communities.

Gleaning from the Process

There is much to learn even from the way the FGD was conducted. The majority of our participants were women, but there were around 3 or 4, out of 50, who were men. We had formed 5 groups for the FGD. The first 4 were composed of our women participants from TESDA, while the last group was composed of representatives from SAGIP, the barangay’s women desk, and the municipal office. The last group was the only mixed group from the bunch.

Noticeably, the first 4 groups had more vibrant discussions. They were huddled closely and their discussions were less guarded. They even ran out of time. The fifth group finished early and appeared to be less engaged. One member confided that they had a bit more difficulty in their sharing owing from the presence of men in the group.

Clearly, the dynamics of the discussion were affected by the composition of the groups. The groups composed mainly of married women talked more about their experiences at home with their husbands and children. They talked about how social conceptions of a woman relative to a man affected how the children viewed the authority of their mother relative to that of their father’s. The mothers talked about their fears for their daughters. The older women advised the younger ones in the group on what to expect upon marriage, on what to keep for oneself while in the marriage. They talked about how reality is, and how it shouldn’t be and how they could or could not change things. The younger women talked about their rights as working women, their experiences in dating relationships, the possibility of bearing a child out of wedlock, their expectations of marriage, among others.

One thing was clear, however, from all the discussions: the issue of violence against women, whether single, married or widowed, is as relevant as it is hushed. It appeared as if the participants have been waiting for such a forum to say what they needed to say, to seek affirmation from other women who shared the same plight, and to finally discover in the law the empowerment they needed to battle problems which have been shrugged off as domestic all their lives. The women were actively taking notes and asking questions throughout the entire seminar.

As relevant and as prevalent as the matter is to many of the women, it is, in the same degree, hushed. One woman identified the problem herself: such domestic violence is usually viewed as a problem between spouses, not to be meddled with by the barangay. A woman shared that she filed a complaint for VAWC against his neighbor’s abuser, but her neighbor stopped her and asked her to withdraw the complaint. She then felt as if she were left with no recourse but to respect her neighbor’s wishes. We then explained that RA 9262 makes violence against women and their children a public crime, and that the action can still proceed even against the wishes of the victim.

The filing of a complaint under RA 9262 is trickier than usual, however. Not as many may be willing to file such complaints precisely because of the social consequences on the woman or the victims. Once a complaint is filed, or a barangay protection order is sought, the community is made aware of the abuses brought against the woman or the child. Such awareness may only bring unwanted attention and embarrassment to the victim, not to mention possible blame. Thus, while RA 9262 aims to grant as much benefits and advantages in the law to women, such purpose is not as easily achieved because of hindrances posed by backward and discriminatory mentalities.

The fact that it is still a hushed problem is obvious in some of the remedies the women have taken to address such violence against them. One filed a complaint for unjust vexation against his abuser. Another one plans to file for legal separation. Still, another one believes that she could do nothing to help herself. Clearly, the protection that the barangay offers is not foremost among the solutions the women believe are available to them. The solutions they have chosen seem to be more personal in nature. Perhaps their choosing such remedies, however, is also indicative of the failure of the barangays to effectively offer help. Perhaps the women feel it is better to file a criminal case outright than consult a barangay official who might appease them into working it out again with their abusers. It cannot be denied, however, that the barangay, through the issuance of the barangay protection order, grants the most accessible and most practical protection to women and their children. Perhaps even social ties and practice this time can help in the greater enforcement of the law by condemning abusers in the community.

No matter the circumstances, it was important for the women to be apprised of their rights as women under the law, and the protection the law offers them when their fundamental rights are trampled upon. In the end, the seminar was as practical and useful to them as it was enlightening to us. The bourgeoning awareness among women of the fundamental wrong in abuses and violence committed against them is evident. Other women, in the dark, only need to see all these other women standing up for their rights, for them to identify the same courage that is within them to get up and leave.