At Philippines, Stella Sibonga, a mother of three, is desperately seeking to annul a marriage she never wanted. “All we want is to be free,” she declares, in a country that is predominantly Catholic.

“I don’t understand why it’s so difficult,” says Shibonga, 45. For 11 years, this woman has been trying to end this marriage, which was imposed on her by her parents when she became pregnant.

But the divorce remains illegal in the Philippines.

The archipelago is the only country in the world — along with the Vatican — where it is impossible to get a divorce.

Female victims of violence find it difficult to leave the marital home, and couples who wish for an amicable separation cannot have it. Only option: ask a court to annul the marriage or declare it never born. But the court process is slow and can cost up to 9,500 euros in this country where millions of people live below the poverty line.

And even if the marriage is terminated, the Philippine government can file an appeal.

In a country that is 78 percent Catholic, where the influential church opposes divorce as well as abortion and contraception, many elected officials are reluctant to change the law.

However, perceptions are – slowly but surely – changing

Filipinos in favor of legalizing divorce are gaining ground according to opinion polls and became the majority in 2017.

The law allowing contraception was passed in 2012 despite opposition from the church.

A group of lawmakers began campaigning for divorce, with several bills being introduced in the House and Senate.

“We are not destroying any marriage,” said Enzel Lagman, author of one of the bills. According to him, divorce is limited to “irretrievably dysfunctional marriages” and its legalization will allow women and their children to escape “violent husbands”.

Not being able to get a divorce has side effects.

AFP found several Facebook posts spreading false information about the legal process to annul a marriage, which demonstrates the presence of fraudsters online.

A female victim, who was looking for “all possible options to be free again”, told AFP on condition of anonymity that she spent 2,250 euros in a procedure that was fraudulent. She is now considering converting to Islam in the hope of getting a divorce based on Islamic law.

For Katrina Lagarde, an expert in family law, the fact that these frauds are increasing shows the “imperative need” for legislation.

Father Jerome Ceciliano, of the Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, on the other hand, believes that his country should be “proud” of being the only country outside the Vatican that “sticks to the traditional concept of marriage.” Divorcing an abusive partner is something he says will “perpetuate the violence” because the abuser will abuse his next partner.

Shibonga, who says she has attempted suicide twice, refuses to let her children marry until the divorce is legal.

“I don’t want them to end up like me,” declares this woman, a Catholic herself who no longer goes to church for fear of being accused of adultery because she has a partner whom she cannot marry.

“People think that I’m still formally married, a sinner” and that “God forbid, man, I’m not divorced,” says Shibonga. “Truth; Even if your husband is trying to kill you?’