THEMATIC: VAWC

VAWC: TIME TO RAISE AWARENESS THROUGH ADVOCACY

In our society, cases of abused women and children has exploded over the years. 

More than 70% of sexually abused children are between 10 and 18 years old. Among those victims, 20% are under 6 years old. Cases of child sexual abuse are one of the most common issues that the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has to handle after abandonment and neglect. 

Despite the Anti-Rape Law of 1997, rape remains the most frequent type of sexual abuse, followed by incest and fondling. 98% of rape victims are women. The incest percentage is another alarming data: 33%.

● 98% of these sexually abused children are girls.

The 2015 Child Protection Network Annual Report states that 87% of all cases of sexual violence are girls, 11.7% of which occurred in the family home. While victims of sexual exploitation for commercial purposes are predominantly 13 to 18 year-old girls, some of them were forced into prostitution from age 10 for the youngest ones. Besides, young girls are far more affected by STDs and AID/HIV. They also are usually illegally recruited (especially girls from rural areas,) and are victims of sexual discrimination – they are taken out of school, forced to work and/or to prostitute themselves, etc.

Year after year, nothing is changing and the situation is even getting worse. It is directly linked to a persistent culture of discrimination towards girls and women in families and society, as well as a lack of services and equipments enabling (pre)teenagers to be taken care of, especially girls living on the streets victims of sexual abuse. 

Even tho it seems impossible to address the increasing rate of rape, there is still chance of change as long as we know our own rights. For example, The Republic Act 8353 or the Anti-Rape Law of 1997.

Wherein in this Law, it is stated that: 

The Anti-Rape Law of 1997 redefines rape as:

A crime against persons:

Rape violates a person’s well being and not just ones virginity or purity.

The law considers that any person, whether a prostituted person, non-virgin or one who has an active sexual life may be victimized by rape.

A public offense:

By declaring that rape is a crime against persons, the law no longer considers it as a private crime.

Anyone who has knowledge of the crime may file a case on the victim’s behalf.

The prosecution continues even if the victim drops the case or pardons the offender.

● Anyone can be a rape victim, but the incidence of rape is more rampant in women and girls.

Who can commit rape?

Any man or woman may be held liable for rape. It is possible that a man may rape his own wife, an act deemed as “marital rape.” The penalty for rape in general may apply on the offender who commits marital rape.

How is the crime punished?

The penalty varies depending on the act itself and the circumstances surrounding it. Reclusion Perpetua (Imprisonment from 20 to 40 years) is imposed on the offender if rape is committed through sexual intercourse.

Prision Mayor (Imprisonment from 6 to 12 years) is imposed on the offender if rape was committed through oral or anal sex or through the use of any object or instrument that was inserted into the mouth or anal orifice of the woman or a man.

This may also be elevated to Reclusion Temporal (Imprisonment from 12 to 20 years) or Reclusion Perpetua depending on the circumstances surrounding the crime.

Other than this, we also have the Republic 11313 or the Safe Spaces Act of 2019. 

The law covers all forms of gender-based sexual harassment (GBSH) committed in public spaces, educational or training institutions, workplace, as well as online space.

Gender-based Streets and Public Spaces Sexual Harassment:

GBSH in street and public spaces is defined as acts which are committed through any unwanted and uninvited sexual actions or remarks against any person regardless of the motive for committing such action or remarks.What are the acts of gender-based sexual harassment (GBSH) in public spaces?

a. Catcalling or unwanted remarks directed towards a person, commonly done in the form of wolf- whistling (paninipol), misogynistic, transphobic, homophobic, and sexist slurs, as well as unwanted invitations;

● Sexist remarks or slurs-statements that are indicative of prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination on the basis of sex, typically against women

● Homophobic remarks are indicative of fear, hatred or aversion towards persons who are perceived to be or actually identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, pansexual and such other persons of diverse sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or towards any person perceived to or actually have experienced same-sex attraction.

● Misogynistic remarks or slurs- statements that are indicative of the feeling of hating women or the belief that men are inherently better than women.

● Transphobic remarks or slurs-statements that are indicative of fear, hatred or aversion towards persons whose gender identity and/or expression do not conform with their sex assigned at birth. 

b. Persistent uninvited comments or gestures on a person’s appearance;

c. Relentless requests for personal details;

d. Statement of sexual comments and suggestions;

e. Public masturbation or flashing of private parts, groping, making offensive body gestures at someone, and other similar lewd sexual actions;

f. Any advances, whether verbal or physical, that is unwanted and has threatened one’s sense of personal space and physical safety. This may include cursing, leering and intrusive gazing, and taunting;

g. Persistent telling of sexual jokes, use of sexual names; and

h. Stalking or conduct directed at a person involving the repeated visual or physical proximity, non-consensual communication, or a combination thereof that cause or will likely cause a person to fear for one’s own safety or the safety of others, or to suffer emotional distress. 

What are the penalties for GBSH in public spaces?

Penalties vary according to the act of GBSH committed and how often a person was convicted for violating the laws. Local government units may come up with ordinances that impose heavier penalties for the acts specified in the Safe Spaces Act, subject to the conditions set under the Administrative Code.

Additional penalties if the perpetrator is the driver or operator of a PUV:

♤ Cancellation of license of the driver by the Land Transportation Office (LTO)

♤ Suspension or revocation of franchise by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB). This sanction may be imposed upon order by the proper court OR upon order of LTO/LTFRB in an administrative proceeding

♤ PUVs include motor vehicles considered as public transport conveyance or common carrier duly registered with the LTO and granted a franchise by the LTFRB including special PUVs such as school services. PUV also includes public water transport utilities and air carrier or operator as registered with and/or regulated by the Maritime Industry Authority, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, or the Civil Aeronautics Board.

What are the roles of Local Government Units in Implementing anti-GBSH in streets and public spaces? Under the law and its Implementing Rules and Regulations, LGUs shall have the following duties to address GBSH in public spaces; 

◇ pass an ordinance to localize the law within sixty (60) days from its effectivity;  

◇ disseminate or post in conspicuous places a copy of the law and the corresponding ordinance; The LGUs may come up with information, education, and communication (IEC) materials which may be in their respective languages; 

◇ provide measures to prevent GBSH in educational institutions, such as information campaigns and anti-sexual harassment seminars;

◇ discourage GBSH and impose fines on acts of gender-based sexual harassment as defined in the law;

◇ establish an anti-sexual harassment hotline where personnel assigned to attend the hotline knowledgeable on GBSH and the forms of assistance made available by the LGU;coordinate with the DILG in implementing the law.

◇ establish a referral system for complainants of GBSH in streets and public spaces. This may form part of an existing referral system for complainants of other forms of gender-based violence;

◇ provide training on the law for the Punong Barangay and members of the Lupong Tagapamayapa in cases covered by the Katarungang Pambarangay system, for traffic enforcers under their jurisdiction, and adopt training modules for concerned LGU personnel down to the barangay level;

◇ set up Anti-Sexual Harassment (ASH) desks in all barangay, city and municipal halls, preferably staffed by a woman. VAW Desks may also serve as the ASH desks and the same shall be strengthened, following the guidelines to be set by the DILG; and

◇ create a mechanism for handling and documentation of complaints including those in cases covered by the 1st & 2nd offenders of “Verbal” GBSH (Implementing Rules and Regulation)

On the other hand, there is this Gender-Based Online Sexual Harassment

Gender-based Online Sexual Harassment includes acts that use information and communications technology in terrorizing and intimidating victims through: threats (physical, psychological, and emotional), unwanted sexual misogynistic, transphobic, homophobic and sexist remarks and comments online whether publicly or through direct and private messages; invasion of the victim’s privacy through cyberstalking and incessant messaging; uploading and sharing without the consent of the victim any form of media that contains photos, voice, or video with sexual content; any unauthorized recording and sharing of any of the victim’s photos, videos or any information online; impersonating identities of victims online or posting lies about victims to harm their reputation; or filing false abuse reports to online platforms to silence victims.

What are the penalties for online gender-based sexual harassment?

The penalty of online GBSH violation is prision correccional in its medium period [imprisonment of six (6) months and one (1) day to two (2) years and four (4) months] or a fine of not less than one hundred thousand pesos (PHP 100,000.00) but not more than five hundred thousand pesos (PHP 500,000.00), or both, at the discretion of the court.

If the perpetrator is a juridical person, its license or franchise shall be automatically deemed revoked, and the persons liable shall be the officers thereof, including the editor or reporter in the case of print media, and the station manager, editor and broadcaster in the case of broadcast media. 

An alien (foreigner) who commits gender-based online sexual harassment shall be subjected to deportation proceedings after serving sentence and payment of fines.

In this world where not everybody is worth trusting, we still have these laws as a protection against those who take advantage of us and our vulnerability. That is the reason why we should always know what RA we can use to fight for our rights and let those abusers suffer with the consequences they are committing. 

We may not stop abuse and rape cases all at once, we can atleast lessen its rates by simply knowinf the function of these laws and not being afraid to use them as your shield. 

We all have the rights and we should not waste any single chance we have with these laws/RAs. Let us remember that any of our human rights are worth fighting for, especially when you have the most accurate law to punish those suspects. 

Let us protect ourselves and use these Law of Rights properly. And for those who are abusing women, mostly children, y'all better stop whatever that thing is. Women and children are meant to be taken care of and not being hurt by people in their surroundings. 

STOP THE VIOLENCE AND START SPREADING LOVE, KINDNESS, AND RESPECT. LET US CREATE A BETTER ENVIRONMENT AND A BETTER WORLD BY AVOIDING NEGATIVE HABITS THAT CAN CAUSE SO MUCH PAIN TO OTHER PEOPLE.

 

REFERENCE/S: https://pcw.gov.ph/faq-republic-act-no-11313/

https://pcw.gov.ph/faq-ra-8353-an-act-expanding-the-definition-of-crime-and-rape/

https://www.cameleon-association.org/contexte-aux-philippines/?lang=en

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