Feminism and the Women's Movement in the Philippines: Struggles, Advances, and Challenges women's groups'put this as a major problem in the vision for social change'(Monares, 1996: 141). Describing the magnitude of the problem, the Government's Philippine Plan for Gender-Responsive Development(PPGD) 1995­2025 acknowledged that VAW has become a serious and urgent human rights concerns for countless Filipino women living in constant fear and insecurity over their lives and safety. For them, daily acts of violence, particularly as these happen in their homes and in the community, create a situation of helplessness and powerlessness that hinder their growth and potentials, oftentimes completely immobilizing them and effectively excluding them from any active participation in the development process. Contributing to the increased awareness of VAW issues were women's NGOs and organizations that worked to address various forms of gender-based violence experienced in families, workplaces and communities, and integrated VAW issues into their advocacy through 'diverse strategies such as direct services, education and training, organizing, networking and coalition building, and legislative lobbying'(WWTSVAW, 2009: 3). Monares (1996) noted a number of NGOs that worked to address VAW, such as the Women's Crisis Center(a pioneering NGO that provided shelter and counseling services to victims of violence), the Third World Movement Against the Exploitation of Women, GABRIELA, BATIS, Asian Women Human Rights Council, Women's Legal Bureau, KALAKASAN, and Congressional Research and Training Services. A shining example and best practice in preventing domestic violence through a women-initiated and community-based response is that of Bantay Banay (Family Watch Group) 9 in Cebu City, which was pioneered by Lihok Pilipina Foundation(Lihok) long before the enactment of the Anti-Domestic Violence and Their Children Act in 2004. 10 Domestic violence had been considered a'private trouble' or'family matter' that prevented the local police from intervening in instances of domestic violence. The Bantay Banay advanced the notion that the first responders to domestic violence should be located in the community where such violence occurred. The program was an accidental'by-product' of a micro-enterprise initiative of Lihok. Alarmed by the frequent absences of some women-members and the slow loan repayment for microenterprises, Lihok investigated the reasons for such and learned that the women-beneficiaries had been having problems with their husbands that, in turn, impeded the women's livelihood activities. A study initiated by Lihok found that 6 out of 10 women were battered by their partners; in response, Lihok created Bantay Banay and pioneered the program in selected areas in Cebu City. Today, Bantay Banay is a nationally and globally renowned model of a community-based response to domestic violence. Its local advocacies resulted in the approval of Cebu City's Anti­Domestic Violence Ordinance, which was the first of its kind in the country. Cebu City was also one of the first local government units to install women's desks in city police stations, and enact a Gender and Development Code that provided a framework for the city's gender and development program. The city government likewise established the Cebu City Women and Family Affairs Commission that included the private sector and NGOs as members, and passed an ordinance creating the Committee on Decorum and Investigation at City Hall to look into cases of sexual harassment and abuse (Government Innovators Network, n.d.). The Anti-Rape Law: From crime against chastity to crime against person Among the landmark achievements of the Philippine women's movement in the 1990s revolve around the adoption of the Anti-Rape Law in 1997, overturning the colonial-era law on rape that defined the latter as a crime against chastity, not against person. Such narrow definition of rape prevented the effective prosecution of rape crimes and placed undue burden on the victim. Republic Act 8353 or the Anti-Rape Law of 1997 'expanded the definition of rape, de-gendered it and recognized the existence of marital rape. It provides that 9 For Bantay Banay, Lihok Pilipina won in the institution category of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Triennial Awards in 2005. Cebu City was one of the three recipients of the Women Friendly City award in the Asia Pacific given by UN Habitat in 2004. The city government was also cited as a gender-friendly city by the national government's Galing Pook Program for Gender Responsive Governance. For this, Tessie was one of 14 awardees during the 41st Charter Day as an“Outstanding Cebuana”(Elape-Valeros, 2007). 10 Republic Act No. 9262 known as Anti-Violence Against Women and their children(VAWC) Act of 2004 became a law after almost a decade of policy advocacy. Considered as a significant victory for women, it defines VAW committed by their intimate partners as a public crime. The law provides for the immediate legal relief for the victim-survivors of abuse in the form of protection orders, redress for abuse experienced and stronger community mechanisms to respond to cases of domestic violence, among others. 13