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Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Rolando Joselito D. Bautista joins other women advcates during the ceremonial signing of the Joint Memorandum Circular for the Guidelines In Handling Violence Against Women And Children (VAWC) and other Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Emergencies Reported through Emergency 911 National Emergency Hotline on December 7.
Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Rolando Joselito D. Bautista joins other women advocates during the ceremonial signing of the Joint Memorandum Circular for the Guidelines In Handling Violence Against Women And Children (VAWC) and other Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Emergencies Reported through Emergency 911 National Emergency Hotline on December 7.

As the lead agency providing social protection, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) hails the inclusion of gender-based violence (GBV) and violence against women and children (VAWC) incidents as among the cases that can be reported through the Emergency 911 National Emergency Hotline.

A ceremonial signing of the Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) was held online on December 7 which was participated in by the DSWD, Department of Justice, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Philippine Commission on Women, Philippine National Police, the Australian Embassy, and other non-government organizations.

Through the JMC, the national and local structures of addressing VAWC and GBV will be strengthened since a toll-free hotline service will be accessible to victim-survivors, witnesses, or concerned citizens reporting cases of violence or abuse anytime and anywhere in the country.

For the part of the DSWD, Secretary Rolando Joselito D. Bautista expressed his full support to the implementation of the policy.

“The DSWD commits to work with concerned government agencies and private stakeholders to contribute to the integration, collaboration, and operationalization of the VAWC 911 national hotline,” Secretary Bautista said.

“The Department also pledges to help all women and their children who experience gender-based violence by providing them with social protection programs, services, and interventions  to assist them towards their healing and full recovery,” the Secretary added.

Likewise, the DSWD, as part of its technical assistance and resource augmentation mandate, will  help capacitate local social welfare and development officers and concerned service providers by providing them with training in handling cases of survivors of VAWC and GBV.

Among the VAWC and GBV cases that can be reported in the emergency hotline 911 include, but are not limited to the following: physical or domestic abuse, sexual abuse, psychological or emotional abuse, economic abuse, verbal abuse, online sexual exploitation and trafficking, marital rape, and hate crimes, among others.

The DSWD reminded the public that the 911 emergency hotline is free and open 24/7, however, it must only be used for emergency purposes. ###