DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED BY POLICE OFFICERS OF GUMACA

MUNICIPAL POLICE STATION IN HANDLING CASES OF VIOLENCE

AGAINST WOMEN AND THEIR CHILDREN

A Thesis

Presented to the Faculty of the

College of Criminal Justice Education

Laguna State Polytechnic University

Lopez Satellite Campus

In Partial Fulfillment

Of the Requirements for the Degree

Bachelor of Science in Criminology

CHERRY MAE C. PEÑOSO

2023
 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Violence against women is an alarming problem experience by many women

worldwide because of increasing reported case about it. It ranges from simple physical

abuses to severe life destroying consequences such as emotional disorder and death. The

Filipino women aren't exempted from this myriad. And though our constitution

guarantees equal protection regardless to all personalities, we cannot deny the fact that

there were many pitiful women who suffered violence from the hands of their cruel

misters, abusive parents or guardians, and some from their employers.

The UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (defines

violence against women as: “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely

to result in physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including

threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in

public or in private life”. This statement defines violence as acts that cause, or have the

potential to cause harm, and by introducing the term “gender based” emphasis that it is

rooted in inequality between women and men. The term gender-based violence has been

defined as “acts or threats of acts intended to hurt or make women suffer physically,

sexually or psychologically, and which affect women because they are women or affect

women dis-proportionally”. Thus, gender-based violence is often used interchangeably

with violence against women. Both these definitions point at violence against women as a

result of gender inequality. This inequality can be described as discrimination in

opportunities and responsibilities and in access to and control of resources that is rooted

in the socio-culturally ascribed notion of masculinity as superior to femininity.

Due to the increasing number of violence against women and children (VAWC)

case the international community has been prompted to declare it as a public health and

human right issue of worldwide scope. In the United Nations Declaration on the

Elimination of Violence against Women of 1993 and the Beijing Platform for Action of

1995, many organizations are pushing the advocacy regarding on protection of women’s

health and rights and lobbying for the abolition of such cruel acts for decades which

resulting in the holding of several global and regional conventions and agreements.

(World Health Organization, 2021).

According to the 2017 National Demographic and Health Survey conducted by

the Philippine Statistics Authority, one in four Filipino women age 15-49 has experienced

physical, emotional or sexual violence by their husband or partner. It is indeed alarming

that despite efforts to address the concern, VAW persists. Violence against women

(VAW) appears as one of the country’s pervasive social problems.

Physical violence is described as being hit, slapped, kicked, or physically hurt by

someone (Philippine Statistics Authority - PSA & ICF, 2018). The survey found that 17%

of women between the ages 15-49 have experienced physical violence. Younger women

(15-19) are less likely to have experienced physical violence compared to older women

(40-49). However, the difference is fairly small, as 13% of younger women have

experienced physical violence compared to the 18% of older women. Similar to the

results of spousal violence, women in the lower wealth quintiles are more likely to
experience physical violence compared to those with more wealth. Among currently or

previously married women, the most common perpetrators were the current or former

husband/partner. For the never-married women, the most common perpetrators for

physical violence were a parent or step-parent (Philippine Statistics Authority - PSA &

ICF, 2018).

Sexual violence is described as being forced to have sexual intercourse or to

perform any sexual acts when they did not want to (Philippine Statistics Authority - PSA

& ICF, 2018). Five percent of women aged 15-49 reported experiencing sexual violence.

Three percent of women with no children have experienced sexual violence, while nine

percent of women with more than five children have experienced sexual violence. Less

women in the wealthier quintiles have reported experiencing sexual violence compared to

those in the lower wealth quintiles. Among ever-married women, over 80% of the

perpetrators were their current or former husband/partner. For the never-married women,

the most common perpetrators were friends/acquaintances, other relatives, current or

former boyfriends, or strangers. However, physical and sexual violence do not always

occur separately. Of the 19% who have experienced either physical or sexual violence,

4% have experienced both (Philippine Statistics Authority - PSA & ICF, 2018).

The Philippines ranks eighth place in the 2018 Global Gender Gap Report. It is

among the top 14 countries who have exceeded the goal to close the gender gap by 80%

in terms of Economic Participation and Opportunity, and is part of the top five countries

where women equally attain managerial positions. It ranks among the first in Educational

Attainment, where the gender gap is closed, and holds the 13th place for Political
Empowerment. It also brags closing 80% of the overall gender gap, with the rates as high

as it has ever been for the country (World Economic Forum, 2018).

There are implemented laws to protect women’s rights and prevention against

violence against women in the Philippines. The government has built campaigns and

programs to strengthen their call of action for this phenomenon. But despite of a lot of

rules and regulations to solve and prevent this cases, the Philippines is still one of the

countries that has the most number of cases of violence against women. Violence against

women is increasing quickly that takes a big effect not only to women themselves, her

family and her household but also to the economy, productivity and development of the

society.

In the Filipino family context, men are superior and has control over women.

According to the data from the Philippine National Police, the perpetrators of violence

against women are generally intimate manly mates. Cross-cultural inquiries have

mentioned that male control of wealth and decision-making within the family and

conjugal conflicts are strong predictors of abuse. Inequalities between men and women

come along across public and private phases of life including social, economic, cultural

and political rights and are showed in restrictions and limitations on women’s freedom of

choices and opportunities. There are numerous factors violence against women similar as

family, economic and social. The researchers are able to identify how these factors can

affect and associate violence against women in order to drag a transparent form of

violence against women in the Philippines.

 Numerous efforts are applied to reduce violence against women in the

Philippines. The local government has enforced various laws to protect women; one of

these is the Republic Act 9262 or the Anti-Violence against Women and their Children

Act of 2004. It's a Philippine law for protection of women and their children in the

family. Any act or series of acts committed by any person against a woman who's 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 residence, which affect in or is

likely to affect in physical, sexual, psychological harm or suffering, or economic abuse

including threats of similar acts, battery, assault, force, harassment or arbitrary

deprivation of liberty is condemned by this law. By understanding, the colorful confines

of this global problem through data collection and analysis of the factors that attributes to

violence against women and the supported data gathered of the Philippine National

Police, government would be suitable to develop and estimate measures design to prevent

and eliminate this matter.

In accordance thereto, Republic Act 9262, the Anti-Violence Against Women and

Children Act of 2004 penalizes the commission of violence against women and children

(VAWC). It defines VAWC as any act or series of acts committed by any person against

women who's his wife or former wife, or with whom the person has or had a sexual

dating relation, or with whom he has had a common child. Furthermore, it provides for

penalties for force committed against his child whether legitimate or illegitimate, within

or without the family residence, which results in (or is likely to result in) physical or

mental damage or suffering. Also, economic abuses including threats of correspondent

acts, battery, assault, compulsion, harassment or arbitrary deprivation of liberty are

punished. Among others, it provides for the security of the plaintiff and her family

through the protection orders from the barangay and court. Additionally, it recognizes

“bombarded woman pattern” (BWS) which refers to a scientifically defined pattern of

psychological or behavioral symptoms found in women living in abusive affiliations as a

result of cumulative abuse, as an acceptable defense for actions committed by a victim as

a product of battering.

To insure the efficient prosecution of the law, twelve (12) agencies specifically

entrusted to formulate programs and systems to eliminate VAWC grounded on their

respective mandates, develop qualification programs for their employees to become more

sensitive to the essentials of their clients, and to monitor all VAW initiatives were

convened to form the Council. These agencies are Department of Social Welfare and

Development (DSWD); Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG); Civil

Service Commission (CSC), Commission on Human Rights (CHR); Philippine

Commission on Women (PCW); Department of Justice( DOJ); Department of

Health( DOH); Department of Education( DepEd); Department of Labor and

Employment( DOLE); Philippine National Police( PNP); Council for the Welfare of

Children( CWC); National Bureau of Investigation( NBI).

In the different communities, it is sensitive for a woman to report violence and

pursue legal action because of the succeeding reasons which are worry for her own safety

and protection of her children; fear that her children will be restrained or taken down by

the husband; authority of her extended family, emotional attachment and dedication to

the abuser; low self-esteem and self-guilt; religious values or pressure from cultural
community; economic reliance on the abuser; and absence of legal information about

their rights and laws. On the other hand, authorities are one of the factors why abused

woman does not report the crime (Violence against women in connections information

bulletin for police, 2016). Some people think that police personnel action is always

characterized by dubitation and pressure (Sadusky, 2018). Police officers always demand

the battered women to present fact information through a disquisition to pursue the case.

This put the abused women in revealing dilemmas as they weigh the outcomes of their

sudden action (Sadusky, 2018). Furthermore, according to Annan (2010), as quoted by

(Sadusky 2018), abused women only think that police protection and company may only

give negative impact on their communities since violence against women is the most

unrespectable human rights violation. Hence, many cases of VAWC are unreported and

victims choose to live in silence and guilt, carrying the stigma throughout their lives

rather than blowing of the whistle on the perpetrators who are leaving a happy life like he

didn’t do anything wrong. (Forum on Global Violence Prevention, 2019).

Since 2015, the Women and Children Protection Center (WCPC) has been

strengthened and restructured to address the probation and enforcement of laws against

Trafficking in Persons (TIP) and Violence Against Women and Children (VAWC). The

Center continuously conducts the succeeding counter-intelligence and supervision;

investigation; mission; program and strategy formulation; deliverance and victim’s

assistance; maintain watch list and database; and advocacy and public mindfulness

campaigns. It also serves as a “one-stop shop” for the investigation and treatment of

victims of child abuse, VAW, and other corresponding crimes, through a

multidisciplinary approach. The WCPC likewise actively represented the PNP in the
various assemblies, strategies, programs and conditioning of different inter-agency

councils. Inter-Agency Council on Violence Against Women and Children

(IACVAWC),Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT),Inter-Agency Council

Against Child Pornograph y(IACACP), Juvenile Justice Welfare Council (JJWC),

Council for the Welfare of Children Council (CWC), National Council Against Child

Labor( NCACL), and the Anti-money Laundering Council( AMLC).

Philippine National Police are a crucial law enforcement agency in the execution

of laws and policies relative to women's rights, similar as the Magna Carta of Women,

Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act, Anti-Sexual Harassment, Anti-

Rape law, and Safe Spaces Act, and others. The police officers are known as being the

first replies of the five pillars of the felonious justice system. They are constantly called

upon to intermediate when an act of violence is in progress or shortly after it has passed.

Police officers work with victims, criminals, documentations and various forms of

evidence. Their response can have a dramatic impact on ensuing developments,

containing the prevention of future violent acts and the protection of victims (Manual on

effective police response to violence against women, 2010). The functions of police

officers are truly wide in scope. It is hard for them to take all this conduct to have

positive outcome and giving the victim justice from similar abuse. The functions of PNP

in responding to crimes have long been under review for not doing enough effort to

protect women from violence and for a constantly pathetic response towards the problem.

Hence, this study establishes in depth research as to how police officers respond to the

cases of violence against women to design a program for an effective response predicated

on the findings of the study.

 Cases of violence against women and children (VAWC) in CALABARZON were

gained to attention by the Regional Gender and Development Committee (RGADC)

during its meeting on July 17 2022. The Philippine National Police Region IV- A

reported 1,087 cases with acts of lasciviousness, statutory, incestuous, and attempted

assault beating the list while the Department of Interior and Original Government (DILG)

Region IV- A, through the VAW divisions of local governance units (LGUs), narrated

1,044 cases which include physical, sexual, cerebral or emotional abuse and neglect. The

Department of Social Welfare and Development Region IV- A attended to 15 gender-

predicated violence cases while the Commission of Human Rights (CHR) Region IV- A

reported 7 VAWC cases which all involved economic abuse. Regional Gender and

Development Committee (RGADC) also discussed incidents of sexist or victim- blaming

post in social media by certain local police stations in CALABARZON. A resolution

requesting all LGUs and agencies in CALABARZON to refrain from applying sexist and

discriminatory language in all communication stuff and social media posts was passed.

Through the resolution, the Committee is hopeful that future incidents of sexist and

discriminative acts against women will be avoided in support to the target of being a

VAWC-free Region.

Municipality of Gumaca is a first class municipality located at the southern tip of

Quezon Province in the Southern Tagalog Region. It is a heritage town that is blessed by

the Creator with abundant natural resources and home to peaceful, hardworking and

caring people. The Philippine National Police personnel of Gumaca Police Station

believes that children, whether victims or offenders, should be treated with respect and
dignity, given child-appropriate treatment and language, and handled according to the

standards set forth by the law and the rules to avoid their re- victimization.

This study entitled Difficulties Encountered By Police Officers Of Gumaca

Municipal Police Station In Handling Cases Of Violence Against Women And Their

Children are aiming to determine the problems encountered by PNP officers from

Gumaca Municipal Police Station in dealing with cases of violence against women and

children. Specifically, this study aimed to describe the profile of the respondents in terms

of age, sex, civil status, and length of service as a police officer; to determine the most

common violence encountered by Police Officer of Gumaca Municipal Police Station

under RA 9262 or Violence Against Women and Children Act (VAWAC); to determine

the difficulties encountered by Police Officer of Gumaca Municipal Police Station in

dealing with violence against women and children victims; and to propose action plan to

alleviate the identified problems in handling cases of Violence Against Women and

Children (VAWC).

The researchers chose to conduct the study due to the increasing number of abuse

women and children. They were bothered by the alarming increase of violent- related

involving women and children. Likewise, they are concerned and curious on how police

officer of Gumaca Police Station handle these cases. As future law enforcers, this study

will give them a better grasp of their future functions and prepare them with the

challenges they will encounter once they are already in the service, specifically, future

policewoman who is in greater chance of becoming Police Officer. Moreover, it is the

hope of the researchers that through this study they can contribute in providing solution

to the problem. The data collected hopefully will contribute to the growing body of
research on VAWC and be useful in finding solutions to address the above issues, which

the researcher believes is a crucial step in eliminating gender-based discrimination and

violence.

Theoretical Framework

This study is anchored to Standpoint theory developed by Sandra Harding and

Nancy Hartsock that focuses on perceptions about gender that concentrate on feminist

viewpoint. This theory explains that there are factors that affect people’s perceptions such

as personal experience, tradition and culture, socio-economic status in the society, and the

basic differences of gender.

Women are considered as marginalized group of people where they adapt and

accept perceptions of powerful groups that bring change in their viewpoint. However,

perspectives of a person differ individually but can be similar when they share same

interests and environments with others. Thus, the researchers chose professionals’

insights about the phenomenon. Their viewpoint is substantial to show the state of

violence against women in the Philippines through its factors.

The theory is important to this study to support the claim that there are attributing

factors why violence against women occurs and it is a continuous societal issue in the

Philippines.

Resource Theory

Resource Theory is the theory that all social relationships are based on an

assumption of force or a threat of force (Kenny, Fotaki, & Scriver, 2019). It theorizes that

the more resources that are available to an individual ,the greater the threat of force, but
the less likelihood that force/violence will be used in that relationship (Walters, Basile, &

Hall, 2013). It does not mean that no threat will be used to maintain control, it means that

physical violence will not be used. Rather the violence that a woman may experience in

this situation is not physical violence but rather emotional violence. However, when

someone has fewer resources, they can only resort to force/violence to maintain control

over the relationship(Walters, Basile, & Hall, 2013).

This is situated within the framework of exchange theory, ; under this theory,

men's violence against women can be interpreted as a means for men to maintain their

position in the social structure which views men as using violence within the family to

establish power over women within family dynamics when other resources of persuasion

are lacking.

Feminist Theory

The feminist approach argues that domestic violence in heterosexual relationships

is a consequence of patriarchy, a system of social structures, and practices in which men

dominate, oppress, and exploit women (Dobash and Dobash, 2017). Domestic violence is

a consequence of men's desire to exercise power and control over their female partners, a

behaviour that has been legitimized and justified within the patriarchal system (Quek,

2019). Further, the broader patriarchal structures and institutions contribute to shaping

the uneven distribution of power between men and women by reinforcing gender roles

associated with domestic violence.

Social Learning Theory

 The theory that best explains domestic violence is the social learning theory. The

social learning theory suggests that violence is a learned behavior and can be triggered by

stress, alcohol abuse, and money. We learn behavior starting at an early age in life from

our parents. In fact our parents and guardians have the greatest impact on our behavior,

attitude, and relationships. The learned behavior carries with us into our adulthood.

Social Exchange Theory

Social Exchange Theory is the theory that people seek the highest reward while

putting in the least amount of effort while in a social relationship (Kreager, Felson,

Warner, & Wenger, 2013). As it pertains to violence against women, violence is used

when the reward of gaining control is worth the effort and potential legal consequences

(Resko, 2010). Although there are laws against abuse, this does not always prevent abuse.

This occurs for a multitude of reasons.

Subcultural Theories

The subcultural theories of violence such as the “culture of violence theory”

(Wolfgang and Ferracuti 1967) argue that within large, complex, and pluralistic societies,

sub-groups learn and develop specialized norms and values through differential

associations and organizations that emphasize and justify the use of physical force above

and beyond that which is regarded as “normative” of the culture as a whole. Family and

street violence, for example, are viewed as the products of an exaggerated ethos of
masculinity or of machismo, characteristic of “lower class” society. The various

patriarchal theories have been advanced mostly, but not exclusively, by feminist social

and behavioral scientists, who argue that violence is used by men to control women, to

suppress the latter’s rebellion and resistance to male domination, and to enforce the

differential status of men and women that have traditionally been translated into laws and

customs, in order to serve the collective interests of men. These theories argue both in the

past and present, but less so today, that the unequal distribution of power between the

sexes has resulted in societies that have been dominated by men and that most women

occupy subordinate positions of power, increasing their vulnerability to violence,

especially within the family (Martin 1976; Dobash and Dobash 1979).

Statement of the Problems

This study entitled Difficulties Encountered By Police Officer OF Gumaca

Municipal Police Station In Handling Cases Of Violence Against Women And Children

are aiming to answer the following sub-problems:

1. What are the profiles of the respondents, in terms of:

a. Age

b. Sex

c. Civil Status

d. Length of Service as Police Officer

2. Determine the most common violence encountered by Police Officer of Gumaca

Municipal Police Station under RA 9262 or Violence Against Women And Their

Children Act (VAWAC).

3. Determine the difficulties encountered by Police Officer of Gumaca Municipal Police

Station in dealing with violence against women and children victims.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED OF POLICE OFFICER FROM GUMACA

MUNICIPAL POLICE STATION IN HANDLING CASES OF VIOLENCE
AGAINST WOMEN AND CHILDREN

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE DEPENDENT VARIABLE

 Conceptual Paradigm

Demographic Profile of Respondents

 Age The Difficulties

 Sex Encountered Of Police
 Civil Status
Officer From Gumaca
 Length of Service as Police Officer
Determine the most common violence Municipal Police Station In
encountered by Police Officer of Gumaca
Handling Cases Of
Municipal Police Station under RA 9262 or
Violence Against Women And Their Violence Against Women
Children Act (VAWAC).
And Their Children

Determine the difficulties encountered

by Police Officer of Gumaca Municipal
Police Station in dealing with violence
against women and their children
victims.

Hypothesis

Ho: There is no significant relationship on the difficulties encountered by Police

officers of Gumaca municipal police station in handling cases of violence against women

and their children (VAWC).

Scope and Limitation of the Study

This study is primarily focused on the difficulties encountered by Police officer of

Gumaca municipal police station in handling cases of violence against women and their

children. The researchers aim to determine the most common violence encountered by Police

Officer of Gumaca Municipal Police Station under RA 9262 or Violence Against Women and

Children Act (VAWAC). And also determine the difficulties encountered by Police Officer

of Gumaca Municipal Police Station in dealing with violence against women and children

victims.

This study is conducted to the police officer of Gumaca Municipal Police Station.

The researcher utilize a 100% of the total population of Police Officer in Gumaca

Municipal Police Station.

The researcher conduct the survey on SY 2022-2023.

Significance of the Study

The result of the study is of great help to the following:

To Police officer of Gumaca Municipal Police Station, the result of the study

help them to identify what they need to maintain and improve while handling cases about

violence against women and children.

To the Victim of Violence Against Women and Children, the result of the

study will help them to understand that we have a rights that can protect them and

provide justice to the abuses they experienced.

 To the Researcher, this research as criminology student dream to be a law

enforcer can give them to gain basic knowledge regarding how to handle sensitive cases

like violence against women and children.

To the Future Researcher, this research could be utilized as research data for

future studies or to verify the validity of other relevant discoveries. This study provides

them with background information of an overview of the difficulties encountered of

Police Officer from Gumaca Municipal Police station in handling cases of violence

against women and children.

Definition of Terms

This study covers several unfamiliar words. For a better understanding of the

study and to help the readers achieve their common knowledge of interpreting ideas, the

researcher defines the following terms both in conceptual and operational ways.

Myraid - a countless or extremely great numbers

Children - refers to those below eighteen (18) years of age or older but are incapable of

taking care of themselves as defined under Republic Act No. 7610.

Republic Act No. 9262 - Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act of 2004.

It is a law the seeks to address the prevalence of violence against women and their

children (VAWC) by their husband, or ex-husband, live-in partner of former live-in

partner, boyfriend/girlfriend or ex-boyfriend/ ex-girlfriend, dating partner or former

dating partner.
Violence Against Women and Children (VAWC) - refers to any act or a series of acts

committed by any person against a woman who is his wife, former wife, against a woman

with whom the person has or had a sexual dating relationship, or with whom he has a

common child, or against her child whether a legitimate or illegitimate, within or without

the family adobe, 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.

Domestic Violence - an act or aggressive behavior within the home, typically involving

the violent abuse of a spouse or partner.

Physical Violence - it includes beating, burning, kicking, punching, biting, maiming or

killing, or the use of objects or weapons. Acts that include bodily or physical harm.

Sexual Violence - refers to an act or crime like sexual assault, rape, and sexual abuse.

Psychological Violence - acts or omissions causing or likely to cause mental or

emotional suffering of the victim.

Gumaca - a first class municipality in the province of Quezon, Philippines. According to

the 2020 census, it has a population of 71,942 people. It has 59 barangays.

Chapter III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
 This chapter describes and deliberate the procedure that the researcher will use in

conducting this study. This chapter presents the Research Methodology where the

following will be discussed; Research Design, Respondent and Sampling Technique,

Research Locale, Research Instrument, Data Gathering Procedure and Statistical

Treatment of the Data. These topics are important in gathering data using the Research

Design of overall strategy for the collection of data. The Respondent and Sampling

Technique used to determine the sample size of the target respondent. Research Locale

will show the place where the study will be conducted. The Research Instrument will

explain the research instrument used in the study. Data Gathering Procedure, it will

explain how copies of the instrument were distributed and the Statistical Treatment of

Data explains how each statistical test were used in the treatment.

Research Design

The researcher employs descriptive method of research in this study. Descriptive

method of research is conclusive in nature, as opposed to exploratory. This means that

descriptive research gathers quantifiable information that can be used for statistical

inference on your target audience through data analysis. As a consequence this type of

research takes the form of closed-ended questions, which limits its ability to provide

unique insights. However, used properly it can help an organization better define and

measure the significance of something about a group of respondents and the population

they represent.

Population, Sample Size and Sampling Technique

 The sampling plan technique that is being used by the proponents is Purposive

Sampling which the proponents select the respondents based on her judgement which

who can answer the objective of the research.

The sample consisted of Police Officer who experience to handle cases regarding

on violence against women and children. The respondents of the study were composed of

32 PNP Personnel of Gumaca Municipal Police Station in Gumaca, Quezon.

The following tables are the guidelines of the researcher in interpreting the data they

gathered.

Table 1. Distribution of the Respondents

Respondents Population Sample Percentage

Police Officers of

Gumaca Municipal
32 32 100%
Police Station in

Gumaca, Quezon.

Table 1. shows the distribution of all population of the Police Officers of

Gumaca Municipal Police Station.

Research Locale
 The researcher decided to conduct this study at Gumaca, Quezon, to be able to
have a great and easy accessibility of the information needed in the collection of data
from the respondents. The data was being collected from Police Officers of Gumaca
Municipal Police Station.

Research Instrument

The main instrument used was survey questionnaire. The researchers used a self-

made questionnaire consisting of three parts which were validated by their thesis adviser.

The questionnaire is composed of three parts as follows;

Part 1. Aims to determine the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of

Age, Sex, Civil Status and Length of Service as Police Officer.

Part 2. Aims to determine the most common violence encountered by Police Officer

of Gumaca Municipal Police Station under RA 9262 or Violence Against Women And

Their Children Act (VAWAC).

Part 3. Aims to determine the difficulties encountered by Police Officer of

Gumaca Municipal Police Station in dealing with violence against women and their

children victims.

The researcher will use the Likert scale to measure the answer of the respondent to

the given information/question.

Table 2. Rating Scale.

 Rating Scale Verbal Interpretation

5 Always

4 Often

3 Frequently

2 Rarely

1 Never

Table 2. shows the scale points to determine the frequency on the most common

violence encountered under RA 9262 and the difficulties encountered by Police Officers

of Gumaca Municipal Station in handling cases violence against women and their

children. The researcher will use a 5-point scale. This is done in order to get a specific

response from the respondents.

Data Gathering Procedure

This study was conceptualized by the researchers through the help of their adviser,

where books, internet, journal, unpublished and published thesis were used by the panel.

They also prepared a request letter for the permission to interview and disseminate

questionnaire to the Administration and assist them to get their cooperation and help for

the completion of this study. After conducting a short briefing about the topic, the

researchers then distributed the questionnaires to the respondents.

 The researcher personally explained the content and purpose of the questionnaire. It

was retrieved after the respondents are done answering the questionnaire. After ample

time given, questionnaires were tallied, interpreted and evaluated by the researchers.

Statistical Treatment of Data

To statistically analyze and interpret the data of the Difficulties Encountered by

Police Officers of Gumaca Municipal Police Station in Handling Cases Violence Against

Women And Their Children. The researcher used the Slovin formula in computing the

sample size, stratified sample, frequency percentage distribution to compute the

distribution of the demographic profile of the respondents, weighted mean in order to

analyze and weight the answer of the respondent to each variable and one-way analysis of

variance (ANOVA) to compare the independent variables to whether there are any

statistically significant differences.

Table 3. Statistical Tools of the Study

PURPOSE STATISTICAL FORMULA

METHOD

To determine the adequacy Sample Size N

n= x 100
1+ Ne
of samples (SLOVIN)
Where:

n= sample size

N= population size

e= margin of error

To understand the weight Weighted Mean Σfw

WAM =
Σf
of each variable in data
 analysis Where x= weighted mean
sum of the products of f
and w is the weighted
mean itself.

To make comparison of Percentage f

P (%) = x 100
n
responses.
Where:

P= percentage

f= frequency

n= total number of
respondents

Table 3. shows the statistical tools used by the researcher. The results are

interpreted using the given range and the corresponding verbal interpretation to describe

the respondents rating.