Philippines: Breaking the cycle of abuse
Domestic violence in the Phillipines is common. Sabakan fights for the rights of women and helps families overcome the cycle of abuse.
It was the harrowing but brave story of Perla - a slight woman in her twenties - that sowed the seed for the birth of our partner Sabakan, an organisation which helps women who have suffered abuse.
Sister Breda, founder of Sabakan, says the first time she met Perla: “She was struggling to survive, her home was a one-room shack tilted in a way that put the fear of god in me.”
A few nights before, Perla had been raped. Unlike many women, she had been brave enough to report her case to the police. But the law was not on her side.
Perla’s statement was wrongly translated into the Cebuano language instead of widely-spoken Mindanao, and she was warned she had a slim chance of winning the case. Outraged by the injustice, she contacted Sister Breda for help.
“Perla’s courage was inspiring. Her experiences are echoed in the lives of so many women, particularly those living in vulnerable situations. She became the first of many women I helped,” says Sister Breda.
Unfortunately, after almost nine years of struggling, Perla lost the court case against her attacker. Now she uses her passion and experience to help other women bring their cases to court and fight for justice.
Sabakan, which means ‘womb’ in Cebuano, began work in 1997. The only diocesan ministry for women in the Philippines, it is a centre for healing and therapeutic support for women and children who have suffered domestic violence - and there are many in the Philippines
"Poor women suffer the most."
The scale of the violence is hard to understand as there are no national statistics. Cases reported to the police only represent a tiny proportion of abuse. But a study by the Philippine Population Commission in 2001 estimates at least one in ten women have been affected by abuse at some point in their life.
Inday, director of Sabakan says: “If we don’t take these cases to court, who will? You need a big budget, time for the victim, and legal knowledge. It is precisely because people don’t have these resources that many heinous crimes go unpunished. Poor women suffer the most.”
Sabakan believes that abuse in adulthood often has roots in childhood. ”To experience violence and brutality in childhood may sow the seed of a violent passivity or violent revenge later in life,” says Inday.
Sabakan’s work with children provides safe spaces for them to discuss their ordeals in a way that is both fun and creative. During healing sessions women and children are encouraged to express their feelings through non-intrusive methods such as drawing, painting, dancing and rituals.
A new role for the church
Sabakan also works with the church to integrate issues such as equality and dignity into church and government programmes.
Liturgies dedicated to the healing process of women and children are an important part of this process. “Sharing the pain and accompanying rage, despair and darkness can become the dying of a seed and the birth of new life and light for many women,” explains Inday.
“Each story can be linked to the story of Jesus - his journeying, his great suffering and his celebrations in resurrections. Each story can become the cross and resurrection today.”
Inday believes this is an important part of Sabakan’s work because “it makes the community more supportive to the victim-survivors, and minimises the victim blame syndrome.”
Men also have a role in helping to stop the cycle of violence, thereby empowering women, and Sabakan has helped set up a men’s support group.
One participant said: “Before I was a dictator, I would get furious if what I had demanded was not done. Now I have learned to consult and to accept that not everything I say has to be followed.”
