MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday sought to strengthen the country’s 22-year-old law protecting women and children from abuse by explicitly covering economic abuse, non-consensual sexual acts and technology-facilitated violence, including deepfakes and the non-consensual sharing of intimate images.
Hontiveros sponsored Senate Bill No. 2496 under Committee Report 114, or the Expanded Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children (E-VAWC) Act, which seeks to amend Republic Act (RA) 9262, or the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004.
The measure is a consolidation of Senate Bill No. 1759 authored by Sen. Camille Villar and Senate Bill No. 2369 authored by Hontiveros, and also takes into consideration House Bill No. 8420.
Hontiveros said the proposed amendments were needed to address forms of abuse that have emerged or become more prevalent more than two decades since RA 9262 was enacted.
“Twenty-two years since its passage, the women’s rights and women’s movement have come a long way. However, we continue to discover and learn more about violence against women and their children, which is why it is time to strengthen our existing law,” Hontiveros said.
The bill recognizes situations in which children are used to torment, control or punish their mothers, including denying a woman access to her children to force her to tolerate infidelity or abuse, and withholding financial support for children’s basic needs to pressure her into submitting to an abuser’s control.
It also expands the definition of sexual violence to cover instances in which a woman is made to engage in sexual activity while unconscious or under the influence of a substance that leaves her incapable of giving or withholding consent.
Hontiveros said the measure would separately recognize economic abuse as a form of violence, noting that financial control can prevent women from leaving abusive relationships.
“When someone uses money and financial control to limit a person’s choices, independence, and ability to live safely, that is economic abuse,” she said.
The bill also addresses technology-facilitated violence, including threats to release intimate photos or videos, hacking of accounts, intimidating messages, non-consensual recording or sharing of intimate images, deepfakes and AI-generated sexually explicit content.
It would also cover the creation of fake social media accounts to harass or intimidate victims and strengthen mechanisms to block and remove harmful online content, with cooperation from internet service providers.
“This is not ‘online only.’ It has traumatic and dangerous effects in real life,” Hontiveros said.
For Filipino migrant workers and their children, the measure requires Philippine embassies to provide access to legal, medical, psychosocial and other essential services.
It also proposes stronger confidentiality safeguards to prevent perpetrators from using public records to locate survivors, as well as up to 20 days of paid leave for survivors who need time for medical or psychological care, legal remedies, investigations and court proceedings.
Hontiveros said RA 9262 must keep pace with changes in technology and relationships since its enactment in 2004.
“If violence moves online, justice must move online,” she said. “Where violence emerges, protection must follow.”
