Cheating on Your Wife Can Be VAWC

Is marital infidelity considered violence against women and children?

Yes, it can be.

As stressed in the recent case of XXX v. People of the Philippines, G.R. No. 250219, 01 March 2023. The names of the characters in this case were redacted by the Supreme Court.

In 2006, XXX and AAA (the wife) were married. AAA left for Singapore in 2008 for employment. In 2015, AAA discovered that XXX had a romantic relationship with another woman, CCC. Worse, CCC was pregnant with XXX’s child.

It was proven in court that CCC would send AAA text messages in order to spite her. Excerpts include the following:

CCC: Nabunti ako out of love. Eh ikaw nabuntis ka out of LUST. Oh by the way  do you know what lust means?

x x x 

AAA: Oh bakit masama bang malaman kung kelan ipanganak ang anak ng asawa ko sa ibang babae.. Haha

CCC: Hahahahah asawa? Uy hindi mo daw siya asawa, eto o tumatawa sa tabi ko… Sa papel lang daw kayo nag asawa at hindi sa puso at kaluluwa niya. Hahahaha it hurts di ba?

Even XXX himself sent a damaging message:

XXX: Sige na matutulog na kami ng mahal ko nakaligo na siya, masarap yumakap dahil malamig ang kwarto namin.

The Court further held:

Marital infidelity is one of the forms of psychological violence. The prosecution in this case was able to satisfactorily establish petitioner's marital infidelity, his cohabitation with CCC who even bore him a child, and his abandonment of AAA. BBB's psychological trauma was evident when she wept in open court upon being asked to narrate petitioner's infidelity. In particular, BBB explained that she was deeply hurt because her father had another family and loved another woman other than her mother, BBB. (Emphasis supplied.)

Upon this evidence, along with others proven in court, XXX was convicted of violation of Sec. 5(i) of the Anti-Violence against Women and Children Act (Anti-VAWC Act). XXX was sentenced to a minimum of 2 years, 4 months, and 1 day to a maximum of 8 years and 1 day in prison.

The Anti-VAWC Act is a gender equity measure passed to correct imbalances in relationships in traditional gendered roles. A facet of these roles is marriage.

Marriage is, was, and continues to be a serious matter in the Philippines. With this court case, the sanctity of vows and their accompanying obligations are reinforced. The grave disrespect Mr. XXX inflicted upon his wife and the institution of marriage had deeply damaging and hurtful consequences not only to his wife but most tragically for the child.

Do you think CCC should have also been charged? Let us know in the comments below.

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