XXX, PETITIONER, VS. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, RESPONDENT. [ G.R. No. 252739, April 16, 2024 ]

Pursuant to its policy to protect the safety, health, and welfare of women and children, the State has a duty to acknowledge the different, but no less damaging forms, that violence and abuse can take, to provide meaningful safeguards that concurrently defend the wellbeing of the victims and seek commensurate redress from their abusers. Marital infidelity is one such form of domestic violence that not only transgresses the matrimonial vows of faithfulness and commitment, but also inflicts inconceivable psychological and emotional harm upon the aggrieved spouse and their children. As a form of psychological abuse, marital infidelity destroys the stability and unity of the family at its core, shatters the self-worth and trust of the betrayed spouse, and fosters deep-seated trauma borne of emotional turmoil and related mental health issues. To stem the perpetuation of the cycle of abuse, and to prevent the normalization of extramarital promiscuity in our society, the Court declares marital infidelity to be a form of psychological violence punishable under Republic Act No. 9262, otherwise known as the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004.

(Excerpts from the Supreme Court decision)