House left empty
Violence against women, however, is not only an assault on dignity but also a direct threat to health.
Kay P. Aviles
In a subtle unraveling of a marriage, the law was called upon to listen not to documents or diagnoses, but to the voice of a woman who had endured abandonment, betrayal, and neglect. The case of XXX270257 v. People and AAA, decided by the Supreme Court on August 12, 2024, arose from the lived anguish of a wife whose husband had turned his back on his family, flaunted an extramarital affair, and refused to provide support for their children.
The facts were stark. A husband, bound by law and conscience to care for his wife and children, chose instead to abandon them. He did not merely leave discreetly; he paraded his infidelity, living openly with another woman. This brazen betrayal compounded the humiliation of his wife, who was left to shoulder the burden of family life alone. Financial support, a basic duty of parenthood, was withheld. The children, innocent and dependent, were deprived of the sustenance owed to them.
The wife, wounded yet resolute, turned to the courts under Republic Act No. 9262, the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act. She alleged psychological violence, specifically, the mental and emotional anguish inflicted by abandonment, infidelity, and denial of support. Her testimony painted a picture of suffering. The humiliation of betrayal, the despair of neglect, and the unspoken torment of raising children without the partnership promised by marriage.
The husband’s defense was technical. He argued that her words were not enough, that the law required a psychological evaluation or expert testimony to prove her claim. He sought to reduce her anguish to a matter of paperwork, insisting that without a doctor’s seal, her pain was legally invisible.
But the Supreme Court rejected this narrow view. It held that psychological evaluation is not indispensable to prove psychological violence. The wife’s testimony, vivid and credible, was sufficient. To demand expert reports, the Court reasoned, would unduly burden victims, especially those without means. RA 9262, as social legislation, was designed to protect, not to obstruct.
Thus, the husband was convicted. He was sentenced to imprisonment of up to eight years, fined ₱200,000, ordered to pay ₱75,000 in damages, and required to undergo psychological counseling or psychiatric treatment.
The facts of this case are more than a record of wrongdoing; they are an illustration of the law’s evolving sensitivity. They show that the Supreme Court has chosen to hear the trembling words of victims as evidence in themselves. The abandonment of a wife, the flaunting of infidelity, and the denial of support are not merely private failings. They are acts of violence recognized by law.
Here, the case stands as a landmark, affirming that the voice of the victim is sufficient to convict, and that justice does not require the costly validation of experts when lived experience already speaks with clarity.
Violence against women, however, is not only an assault on dignity but also a direct threat to health. Survivors of sexual violence face heightened risks of contracting sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV, because forced sex often occurs without protection and causes physical trauma that facilitates infection.
Childhood sexual abuse increases vulnerability across a lifetime, while stigma and fear prevent many women from accessing testing or treatment. In this way, violence multiplies harm, inflicting emotional anguish, undermining bodily integrity, and endangering the very future of women and children.
Yet even today, we continue to campaign against violence against women and children because the struggle is far from over. Despite the passage of protective laws like RA 9262, countless women and children still endure abandonment, abuse, and neglect in silence.
Cultural stigma, economic dependence, and fear of retaliation often prevent victims from speaking out. Advocacy remains essential to break these silences, to remind society that violence is not a private matter but a public wrong, and to ensure that every testimony, whether murmured in pain or spoken in court, finds recognition and protection.
Campaigns persist because justice is not only about punishing offenders, but about reshaping communities into spaces where dignity, equality, and safety are lived realities.