Lesbian partner covered by Anti-Violence against Women Act

Dear PAO,

I am Carla, 28 years old, and have been a lesbian all my life. I have been in an intimate relationship with
Cristina, my girlfriend, for almost three years now. I wish to end it already because of her very strong
personality and occasional fits of rage. She would sometimes force me to do things that resulted in us
getting into verbal curses, physical fights, strangulation, or punching one another. As I am the only one
working, she would get mad at me and cause me great pain if I did not give her an allowance, or spend
for her recreational expenses. However, the final straw for me was when she wanted to be intimate
with a sex toy between us and got mad at me when I adamantly refused. I was advised by my friend that
I could not file a case under the Violence Against Women and Children Law because Cristina, my
partner and girlfriend, is not a man. Is this correct?

Carla

Dear Carla,

Based on the acts of Cristina which you have mentioned, it indeed appears that you have been a victim
of violence against women and their children as defined under Republic Act (RA) 9262, otherwise known
as the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004 (VAWC).

Section 3(a) of the law defines violence against women and their children as any act or a series of acts
committed by any person against a woman who is his wife, former wife, or against a woman with whom
the person has or had a sexual or dating relationship, or with whom he has a common child, or against
her child whether legitimate or illegitimate, within or without the family abode, which result in or is
likely to result in physical, sexual, psychological harm or suffering, or economic abuse including threats
of such acts, battery, assault, coercion, harassment or arbitrary deprivation of liberty.

Tested against the foregoing, it is clear that your intimate partner, Cristina, may be charged under the
law for the several violent acts committed upon you, as you have narrated. It must be emphasized that
your status as lesbian lovers, or the fact that Cristina is a female and not a husband, are of no moment
as the scope of the law covers even lesbian partners.In the case of Jesus C. Garcia vs. Hon. Ray Alan T.
Drilon, et al. (GR 179267, 25 June 2013), penned by Associate Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe, the
Supreme Court ruled:

As defined above, VAWC may likewise be committed against a woman with whom the person has or
had a sexual or dating relationship. Clearly, the use of the gender-neutral word person who has or had
a sexual or dating relationship with the woman encompasses even lesbian relationships.
Based from the foregoing jurisprudence, it is clear that you are not prevented from filing a criminal case
against Cristina under RA 9262. Should you wish to do so, you would have at your disposal other reliefs
to prevent Cristina from inflicting further violence against you, such as a Barangay Protection Order
(BPO), Temporary Protection Order (TPO), and a Permanent Protection Order (PPO) under Section 8 of
the same law.