DAVAO CITY, July 3 (PIA) – The Davao City Police Office – Women and Children Protection Desk (DCPO – WCPD) has documented a total of 25 cases of sexual abuse during the span of time of imposed community quarantine from March 15 to June 30 of this year.

DCPO – WCPD Officer P/Maj. Elisa Ramirez raised that what is alarming with the collected data under the community quarantine is that there are still documented cases of sexual abuse despite the fact that most of the people are staying at home due to imposed quarantine measures.

“It’s alarming that despite we’re in a period where people are staying at home there are still [sexual] abuses that are happening,” Ramirez said in the vernacular.

The incidence of sexual abuse cases under the community quarantine implies that abuse still occurs within the household and is due to various contributing factors such as psychological stressors that were brought about by the corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

“One of the reasons [behind sexual abuse] that we have observed is because of the negative effects of the pandemic that caused distress and anxiety and they were not able to control their strong emotions,” Ramirez discussed in the vernacular.

In an effort to provide support to victims of sexual abuse in Davao City during the community quarantine, the DCPO WCPD Officer PMaj. Elisa Ramirez reported on existing hotline numbers and the WCPD social media account and contact number that is dedicated to catering to complainants of sexual abuse in the city.

“WCPD itself has an FB account and we created a dedicated cellphone number that is exclusive to WCPD which is being operated by a WCPD investigator to ensure the protection of sexual abuse victims,” Ramirez said in the vernacular. (PIA XI/KPLCaro)