The 18-day Campaign to End Violence against Women is observed in the Philippines every year from November 25-December 12. The U.N. has defined violence against women (VAW) as “ any act of gender-based violence that results in, or likely to result in, physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.” It’s considered one of the Philippines’ perennial social problems, which is why then- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed Proclamation 1172, extending it to 18 days in 2006.