Ending violence against women and children was the strong call of the Supreme Court as it cited data that there are 646 reported cases of violence against children and 216 cases of violence against women in the Philippines for 1 January and 4 February 2024 alone.

Associate Justice Jhosep Y. Lopez said that of the 646 violence against children cases, 462 or 71.52 percent involved sexual abuse or assault.

He urged everyone “to be more aggressive in our fight against gender inequality and discrimination.” He added that that education will serve “as a potent tool in eliminating violence against women and children” by “fostering open dialogue dispelling myths, and nurturing understanding, we empower our communities to cultivate a culture drawn from love, compassion, and respect.”

This, as the SC called for unity and inclusivity in reiterating its commitment to ending all forms of violence against women, at the kick-off activity in support of the 2024 One Billion Rising Global Campaign: Rise for Freedom.

Through its Committee on Gender Responsiveness in the Judiciary (CGRJ), the court said that the One Billion Rising Global Campaign is in conformity with the Court’s blueprint of action for judicial reform, the Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022-2027 (SPJII).

One of the guiding principles of SPJI is equal and inclusive justice. Associate Justice Henri Jean Paul B. Inting said that the court, through the CGRJ, has already institutionalized policies focused on gender equality and inclusivity in line with the SPJI, “which aspires to nurture a culture of respect, sensitivity, and inclusivity across distinct genders, identities, roles, needs, and vulnerabilities.”

“The CGRJ aims to put in place systematic mechanisms to balance the rights of all under the lens of fundamental equality before the law. Its efforts are but a culmination of the Court's desire to establish the Judiciary, as a whole, as a bastion of equality; that Justices, Judges, and all court personnel, take seriously the implications of their actions in the achievement of ending gender-based violence, whether individually or collectively, whether referring to the adjudication of cases, or to simple court administration, until, any form of violence becomes unthinkable,” said Associate Justice Inting, who co-chairs the CGRJ together with Associate Justice Lopez and Associate Justice Maria Filomena D. Singh.

Inting urged everyone “to appreciate the uniqueness in the identities of the people around us and embrace the different colors of personalities they have. Let us rise above our differences; for only then can we achieve togetherness despite our diversities.”