Feminist Interventions in the Philippine Congress: A Case Study of the Making of the Anti-VAWC Act of 2004

While the Anti-VAWC law was not exactly the same version of the Anti-AWIR bill that the Collective Initiative of Women for Transformation of Laws and Society or Sama-Samang Inisyatiba ng Kababaihan sa Pagbabago ng Batas at Lipunan (SIBOL) lobbied for in the Philippine Congress, the passage of the law reflects SIBOL’s influence in Congress. SIBOL’s influence was based on its ability to create a niche for itself as the legitimate voice on women in Congress, and to sustain that niche all throughout the legislative process. It was this niche as the legitimate voice on women that enabled SIBOL to effectively raise the salience of violence against women as gender-based violence, and to place it into the public discourse and onto the legislative agenda of Congress, and as a consequence, influenced Congress to pass a law that addresses violence against women.