Violence Against Women (VAW) desks are available in 590 barangays of Antique, providing temporary shelter to abused women in the province.

Antique Gender and Development Desk officer Prisceli Joyce Lizcel Galuego said in an interview Monday that the VAW desk in the barangays provided respite for women and their children who are victims of abuse right in their homes.

“Women in our province are now more empowered because they know they have a place where they could seek shelter and protection,” she said.

Galuego said the VAW center is mandated in the Magna Carta for Women and formed part of the program monitoring of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) in the barangays.

The VAW desk at the barangay hall with a dedicated officer has a room with needed personal essentials to accommodate clients.

The PPDO also continuously conducts capacity training for VAW desk officers in handling clients.

“If our figure on VAW cases is increasing, it is because our women are now more empowered that they seek shelter at the VAW desk,” she said.

PPDO recorded 96 VAW cases in 2023, an increase from 87 cases in 2022.

Meanwhile, provincial capitol employees joined the One Billion Rising campaign during the Monday flag-raising ceremony and launching of the Women’s Month celebration at the capitol ground on Monday.

“We will continue to advocate for gender equality and gender fair society to conquer all the challenges that impede women’s empowerment,” said provincial board member Mayella Mae Plameras-Ladislao, who joined the campaign. (PNA)