Short answer. Yes. It is the first ground the Family Code lists, and it covers repeated physical violence or grossly abusive conduct — directed at you, at a common child, or at a child of yours. Legal separation, though, does not dissolve the marriage.
What the law says
(1) Repeated physical violence or grossly abusive conduct directed against the petitioner, a common child, or a child of the petitioner;
Family Code, Article 55 — Grounds for Legal Separation. Read the full provision →
What the law says
For purposes of this Article, the term 'child' shall include a child by nature or by adoption.
Family Code, Article 55 — Grounds for Legal Separation. Read the full provision →
Two things are covered, and only one of them is violence
The ground reads Repeated physical violence or grossly abusive conduct. The second limb matters as much as the first, because abuse in a household is frequently not a matter of blows: sustained humiliation, threats, degrading treatment and control can amount to grossly abusive conduct without a single injury to photograph. The word repeated attaches to the violence, and the clause is aimed at a pattern rather than one lost temper. A history of incidents, however minor any one of them looks in isolation, is what the provision is describing.
Violence against your child counts too
You do not have to be the one being hurt. The conduct may be directed against a common child, or a child of the petitioner, and the article adds that the term 'child' shall include a child by nature or by adoption. So a child from an earlier relationship is within the clause, as is an adopted child. This is worth knowing because parents in this position often assume the law only looks at what was done to them, and stay silent about what their children have been living through.
What legal separation does and does not give you
It is important not to expect the wrong thing from this remedy. A decree of legal separation ends the obligation to live together and deals with the property regime, but the marriage itself remains and neither spouse becomes free to marry again. If what you need is the marriage undone, that is a different action resting on different grounds. Many people in violent households need both this and other, faster protective measures, and the two are not alternatives — the case does not protect you while it is pending.
Safety first, then the record
If you are in danger now, the urgent step is protection and a safe place, not a petition; the immediate remedies against violence in the home move far faster than a legal separation case. Alongside that, build the record while it is fresh — medical and barangay records, photographs, messages, the dates and the names of anyone who saw or was told. A pattern is proved by an accumulation of small documented things, which is exactly what tends to go unrecorded at the time.
Cases citing this provision
These Supreme Court decisions cite the provision above. We list them so you can read them yourself; the summaries of what each decided are not ours to give.
- Aiko Yokogawa-Tan vs. Jonnell Tan and the Republic of the Philippines, G.R. No. 254646, October 23, 2023 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Maria Vicia Carullo-Padua vs. Joselito Padua, G.R. No. 208258, April 27, 2022 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Arabelle J. Mendoza vs. Republic of the Philippines, et al, G.R. No. 157649, November 12, 2012 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Lucita Estrella Hernandez vs. Court of Appeals, et al, G.R. No. 126010, December 8,1999 — read the decision on LawPhil →