UNFPA, World Vision, and Educo offer emergency cash assistance to abused women

For Lorena (not her real name), 48, happy ending belongs to storybooks where a prince and princess live happily ever after.

“The opposite happened to me,” she starts. “A few years after my marriage, my husband became abusive. I experienced being hit in the head and choked. I would constantly receive demeaning words. He would blame me for anything. The worst thing that happened to me was being hit in the stomach.”

Lorena and her husband, Samuel (not his real name) already had two school-aged daughters who witnessed their mother’s ordeal at the hands of their father.

Lorena reported her case to the village authorities. She was then escorted to police and social welfare agencies. The latter told her to seek protection from the village officials to prevent her husband from approaching and hurting her again.

“I kept on repeating my story to each authority I talked to. Frankly, it wasn’t easy for me because I need to recall a painful situation that I needed to overcome. I didn’t want to do it but it was the only way,” Lorena shares.

She admits going to a psychologist. “I consulted a psychologist because I felt traumatized. I wanted to share with somebody all the fears, anxiety, and depression that were boiling inside me, and how to pacify myself,” she explains.

Lorena came back to her province in Catanduañes to start anew. With little savings, she and her daughters rented a small space. Although a Marketing graduate, Lorena accepted a part-time clerical job. From time to time, she would seek counselling with local social welfare staff trained on handling women’s abuses.

When Super Typhoon Goni (locally known as Rolly) ravaged the province, leaving billions worth of damages, Lorena was without work for days.

The United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA), in partnership with child-focused organizations World Vision and Educo, provided cash assistance to individuals, particularly women, who experienced violence and are undergoing counselling. The cash may be used as transportation fare of the individual to a counselling centre and food for the family.

Lorena was one of the beneficiaries. “The cash assistance was a huge help for me because we were just starting our lives then. We brought food and medicine with the money.”

The UNFPA, World Vision and Educo also held an orientation among government personnel in managing gender-based violence survivors. The orientation produced a multi-disciplinary team (MDT) approach in conducting cases on women and child abuses.

Dr. Hazel Palmes, Catanduañes Provincial Health Officer, says their MDT is in its initial stage. “We’re gradually making progress. We now have a room that would cater to survivors of gender-based violence. We’re planning to make the room entrance more discreet to protect the individuals who would go there. We’re also thinking of a name for our MDT, probably Lingap Catandungan.”



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