A girlfriend may be able to file a case against a cheating boyfriend under the expanded Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children (VAWC) Act of 2004, according to a prominent law school dean.
In a report of “Agenda” on One News, Soledad Mawis of the Lyceum of the Philippines University College of Law said that couples in the dating phase of a relationship are covered by the law, which classifies marital infidelity as a violation.
However, the law applies only to “women with whom” a man “has or had a sexual or dating relationship.”
Mawis also pointed out that aggrieved women must establish that infidelity caused them mental or emotional anguish to be able to file a case.
“The burden of proof is on the plaintiff. The skill of a lawyer is secondary to evidence,” Mawis stressed. This means that girlfriends must be able to prove that their cheating boyfriends employed psychological violence to win a case.
She emphasized that the burden of proof is on the plaintiff. The skill of a lawyer is secondary to evidence, she noted.
The possibility of legal action against cheating boyfriends offers a new avenue for aggrieved women to seek justice.
