Rape a heinous crime, not a laughing matter

EDITORIAL

Leading Philippine presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte, whose campaign promises a ruthless war on crime, was condemned after a video surfaced of him apparently joking about a murdered Australian rape victim. Considering his apology, this maybe water under the bridge but the issue has brought to light increasing number of rape cases in the country. 

Philippine National Police records show for the first half of 2015, reported rape cases went up to 8,288 from 5,069 cases during the same period in 2014. In the Cordillera, reports have it that some if not most rape cases are not reported due to family stigma or victims are threatened.

Duterte, who promised mass killings of suspected criminals if elected next month, appeared in a video uploaded on YouTube making the remarks about a female Australian missionary. The woman, who was ministering in a prison in Davao in southern Philippines, was raped and killed during a riot by inmates in 1989.

Duterte was the city's mayor at the time.

"They raped all of the women... There was this Australian lay minister... when they took them out... I saw her face and I thought, 'Son of a bitch. What a pity, they raped her, they all lined up. I was mad she was raped but she was so beautiful. I thought, the mayor should have been first," Duterte is shown telling a crowd of laughing supporters at a campaign rally.

His rivals, women's groups and commentators on social media had denounced his remarks. Women's group Gabriela also attacked the remarks, saying rape or any other form of sexual abuse was not "something to be trivialized in a joke", especially by someone seeking the presidency.

 The Philippine Commission on Women, the lead agency that makes government work for the promotion of gender equality, women’s empowerment

and women’s human rights also issued a statement saying “Rape is a gross violation of human rights and wholly not acceptable. No one, regardless of a person’s age, sex, physical appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, race, social status, disability, or profession deserves to be raped.

 “Trivializing rape through jokes hurts persons who are suffering or may have suffered from the trauma of rape. It also hurts their families and workers who assist victims-survivors who directly see the repercussions of the crime. Rape should never be made a laughing matter; neither should it be used to threaten someone. The repercussions of rape jokes are serious and damaging; victim-survivors once more recount their horrible experiences and recall the pain and suffering.

“We call on every man and woman, boy and girl to be mindful of this serious and alarming issue. Let us be cautious of what we say and how we react. Our thoughts, words and actions should be grounded with our principle of respect.  As citizens, we all have an indispensable role to play in creating a violence-free society. Let us dream and work collectively in creating a society where every person is valued, human dignity is upheld, and victims of despicable crimes such as rape are never denigrated as laughingstocks.”