Strengthening of laws vs rape, violence sought

Senators pushed yesterday for the strengthening of laws on rape and violence against women and children, to include removing the “forgiveness” clause in the Revised Penal Code for suspected rapists.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros filed two measures, one seeking amendments to Republic Act 8353 or the AntiRape Act of 1997 and the other to provide penalties for gender-based online violence.

Citing figures from the Center for Women’s Resources, Hontiveros said a woman or child is raped every 53 minutes. According to the CWR, recorded rape cases in the country increased by 92 percent from 5,132 in 2010 to 9,875 in 2014.

“A majority of rape victims are subjected to humiliation for reporting cases of rape, and many perpetrators are let off the hook because of a cultural environment that engenders machismo and blames the victim,” Hontiveros said.

The proposed amendments to the law under Senate Bill 1252 include emphasizing absence of consent as an essential element in the crime of rape over evidence of physical resistance and external injuries; increasing the age of statutory rape to 18 years from 12 years, and repealing the “forgiveness clause” in the Revised Penal Code.

Hontiveros also filed Senate Bill 1251, which seeks to define genderbased electronic or online violence and provide protective measures and penalties.

She said RA 9262 or the AntiViolence Against Women and RA 9995 or the Anti-Photo and Video Voyeurism Act provide additional legal options for victims and penalties for unauthorized recording and sharing of photographs and videos.

However, there is a vacuum of legal remedies available when the nature of violence tends to disparage the identity of the victims on account of his or her gender.

“Mysogynistic and homophobic attacks on social media are examples of gender-based electronic violence,” Hontiveros said.

Meanwhile, Sen. Grace Poe called for an inquiry into the proliferation of pornography involving children in the country.

In filing Senate Resolution 237, Poe said child pornography and prostitution persist despite the enactment of various laws that carry penalties against unlawful acts such as Republic Act 7610 or the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act of 1992; RA 9775 or the Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009 and RA 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.

Poe sought the probe as the United Nations Children’s Fund tagged the Philippines as the number one global source of child pornography and the “epicenter of live stream sexual abuse trade,” with mostly poor families forcing their children to perform live sex online for pedophiles in exchange for huge amounts of money.