Every 53 minutes, a Pinay is raped, study shows
Every 53 minutes, a Filipino woman or child is raped, a recent study of a research and training institution revealed yesterday.
This is a “fact, not a joke,” that needs government action to address the issue, according to the Center for Women’s Resources (CWR), a research and training institution established in 1982.
“Reducing the issue of rape to ridicule is alarming because the reality shows that every 53 minutes, a woman or child is raped. Everybody cringes with such information. Every woman or girl feels unsafe. And the question is: What is the government doing about it?” said Jojo Guan, executive director of CWR.
According to CWR’s findings, the number of recorded rape cases during the Aquino administration increased by 92 percent from 5,132 in 2010 to 9,875 in 2014.
This implies that a woman or child was raped every 53 minutes wherein seven in 10 victims of violence were children.
On the other hand, violations of the Republic Act (RA) 9262 or AntiViolence against Women and their Children Act escalated by 200 percent from 2010 to 2014.
Guan stressed that despite the alarming number, victims could hardly find solace with the absence of support, aggravated by the impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators.
CWR also presented government records showing that of the 9,445 rape cases reported, only 59 percent were filed in court.
The research institution under- scored that victims are usually discouraged in pursuing their cases because of the expensive litigation and the slow judicial process especially that most of them belong to the lowest wealth quintile.
Guan said that presidential aspirant and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s joke was not the first one trivializing the issue of rape. A t-shirt with the words –”Rape is a snuggle with a struggle” was seen sold in the boys department of a large department store chain a while ago. In another instance, a famous TV personality also used rape as a joke in one of his concerts.
Guan slammed President Aquino for his administration’s patronizing attitude in dealing with the issue of Violence Against Women.
The country enjoys international accolades of being one of the most gender- sensitive countries in the world but government hardly lifts a finger to solve cases of violence against women and children, Guan said.
According to Guan, persistent poverty and crisis resulting from the implementation of anti-women, anti-poor policies of the government aggravated the condition of women and children, leaving them more vulnerable to abuse.
Based on the 2013 National Demographic and Health Survey, women from low wealth quintile are more vulnerable to physical and sexual abuse. Their indigent condition made them more vulnerable to abuses and sexual exploitation.
A culture of impunity also prevailed especially for crimes committed by state authorities. Data from the human rights group Karapatan showed that from June, 2010 to November, 2015, there were 10 reported cases of rape by military men victimizing children and indigenous women.
Some of the cases involved a 21- year- old woman in Aroroy, Masbate in 2010, the case of two teenage girls from Mankayan, Benguet in 2012, and the case of a young lumad from Talaingod, Davao last year. However, not a single soldier was charged and penalized for the brutal acts, Guan said.
“The proliferation of violence is caused by an existing culture that promotes exploitation and subjugation of women especially in the lowest echelon of society. It is a culture where the powerful dominates the powerless. Such domination is translated in the treatment of women, especially those who belong to the marginalized sector,” Guan said.