Self-Defense for Working Women
BY: Nick Torre III • Nov 14, 2022
The Supreme Court, in one of its decisions, said, “We simply cannot be stuck to the Maria Clara stereotype of a demure and reserved Filipino woman. We should stay away from such a mindset and accept the realities of a woman’s dynamic role in society today; she who has over the years transformed into a strong and confidently intelligent and beautiful person, willing to fight for her rights. (G.R. No. 225642-43, People of the Philippines vs. J.D Amarela and J. G Racho) (Credit to Atty Bernadeth Perno Zipagan for finding this quote!)
This is very true nowadays and we see women prominently splashed all over the news with their accomplishments in virtually all fields, including the non-traditional ones such as the military and the police. Yes, women should and rightly be considered equal to men—including from the personal security standpoint. With the advancements of women’s rights and the removal of gender biases also came new challenges for women that were not as prominent as before. Criminals do not discern gender before and even less nowadays. Lately, the news had been awash with violent crime incidents victimizing women—ambush murder, robbery, and physical injury among others. So in this issue, let me offer some off-the-cuff advice to our dear modern Filipinas.
First and foremost, education is the key to personal security. Knowing the basics will never hurt. Almost all resources on personal security revolve around four major areas: awareness, prevention, risk reduction, and avoidance. There are tons of online sites that offer tips on preventing how to be a crime victim. Among the most common tips are the obvious and common sensed based such as: ALWAYS be alert and aware of your surroundings; Park in areas that are well lit and where people can see you; Have your car keys in hand before walking to your car; In addition to checking your surroundings, check the interior of your vehicle before entering it; Vary your daily routine; When agreeing to meet with someone you don’t know very well, meet in a public place. There are many other tips out there similar to this and I really recommend that women should check these out from time to time.
For this article, let me focus on the less discussed area of personal security for women, especially in the Philippine context: survival mindset in relation to the law. There are certain provisions of the penal code that women can take advantage of in relation to personal security, specifically in defending themselves against an attacker. The cornerstone of the self-defense doctrine in the Philippines is Article 11 of the Revised Penal Code, specifically Section 1 which states:
The following do not incur any criminal liability:
- Anyone who acts in defense of his person or rights, provided the following circumstances concur:
- First. Unlawful aggression;
- Second. Reasonable necessity of the means employed to prevent or repel it;
- Third. Lack of sufficient provocation on the part of the person defending himself.”
That is the lawyer’s version and it may need a little focus for us, laypersons, to completely understand. And completely understand it is a must if one intends to invoke it later to justify actions after a street confrontation where instincts naturally take over conscious thoughts. Reading on the internet about Supreme Court decisions regarding this matter will be very enlightening. Use “Self Defense Philippines Revised Penal Code” as keywords in Google to find the most relevant articles.
In a layperson’s words, the doctrine of self-defense needs three essential elements to be valid: you are under attack by somebody, you defended yourself reasonably and commensurate to the attack, and you did not provoke the attack, or in other words, you did not start the fight. From a woman’s standpoint, there is an added advantage: her naturally smaller physical stature makes it easier for her to invoke these elements. The most basic example is a home invasion robbery where the victim-house owner shoots the robber. Under normal circumstances, lawyers defending a robbery suspect (if they survive being shot by the house owner) may argue that the use of a firearm against their clients is unnecessary and thus illegal and may even turn the table against the homeowner—just like what happened to Sonny Parsons in 2002. But the correct mindset will solve a lot of problems: “I am pursuing these robbers who just left my house. I told them that I want my belongings back. But they refused to return them to me and attacked me so I shot them.” With the robbers dead, who will question such a statement especially if it happened inside the property of the victim? More so if said by a woman, the lawyers of the robbers would have a hard time finding faults in the self-defense alibi.
In other situations, a woman can also take advantage of the self-defense doctrine especially if she uses a firearm.
If a criminal who was brandishing a knife robbed her, this statement will cover shooting the suspect at the first chance, “He robbed me and brandished his knife. I pointed my gun at him but he charged me and attempted to wrest it away from me so I shot him. He is bigger than me and I will be dead if I do not shoot him.”
With multiple robbers, the defense is even easier: “They surrounded me and attempted to take me down so I shot them. I hit the one nearest to me and the others ran away.”
There are other variations of these situations but the defense should always be common: there is an unprovoked attack and the woman uses her gun because without it, she will be at the mercy of a bigger attacker.
Consult your lawyers about this article of course. I am a cop and this advice is given from my standpoint. Your lawyer may have other ideas.
Stay safe everyone!
About the Author: BGen. Nick Torre III is the current District Director of the Quezon City Police District.
Note: This article was previously published in our printed issue of The Corporate, Guide and Style for Professionals Magazine.