Push Admin

'No laughing matter': Rape a crime, human rights violation, says Commission on Women

Article (news)

ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/news/09/01/20180322-women-forum-up-9014-md-26.jpg?ext=.jpg"/><figcaption>University of the Philippines students stage a picket for women&#x27;s rights in commemoration of the International Women&#x27;s Month in UP Diliman, Quezon City, March 22, 2018. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/File</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA - Rape is a crime, never a woman’s fault, the Philippine Commission on Women (PCS) said Saturday, days after President Rodrigo Duterte said in jest that women are raped because of their good looks.Duterte drew flak after he joked in a speech Thursday that Davao City has the highest number of rape cases in the country because it has many beautiful women.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/30/18/many-beautiful-women-duterte-jokes-about-davao-city-rape-cases">&#x27;Many beautiful women&#x27;: Duterte jokes about Davao City rape cases</a></li></ul>&quot;It is never a woman&#x27;s fault to get raped. A woman’s body, her appearance, or her clothes are not invitations for rape or any form of sexual violence,&quot; the PCW said. &quot;Women are raped because their bodies are viewed as sexual conquests and objects, that can be owned and abused by men,&quot; the government agency said.The PCW did not directly refer to Duterte&#x27;s latest rape joke but said rape should not be trivialized and &quot;is no laughing matter.&quot;&quot;Rape can cause life-long emotional and physical effects on its victims. Even to non-victims, joking about rape is offensive,&quot; the agency said.&quot;Rape is a crime and a human rights violation. No rape is justifiable,&quot; said the PCW, a state agency that serves as the &quot;primary policy-making and coordinating body on women and gender equality concerns,&quot; according to its official website. Palace officials earlier defended Duterte&#x27;s rape joke and said the President was &quot;mature enough&quot; to know if his jokes went overboard.“The President is mature enough to know to what extent he can go and I think this is not putting it too low,&quot; Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a press briefing. <ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/31/18/palace-on-dutertes-new-rape-joke-he-is-mature-enough-to-know-limits">Palace on Duterte&#x27;s new rape joke: He is &#x27;mature enough&#x27; to know limits</a></li></ul>Duterte was first criticized for poking fun at rape in 2016 when he said he should have been the first to bed a foreign missionary who was raped in the country in 1989.In 2017, Duterte said in jest that soldiers could rape up to three women.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/26/17/duterte-visits-soldiers-in-marawi-gives-boost-to-troops">Duterte visits soldiers in Marawi, gives boost to troops</a></li></ul>

MANILA - Rape is a crime, never a woman’s fault, the Philippine Commission on Women (PCS) said Saturday, days after President Rodrigo Duterte said in jest that women are raped because of their good looks.

MANILA - Rape is a crime, never a woman’s fault, the Philippine Commission on Women (PCS) said Saturday, days after President Rodrigo Duterte said in jest that women are raped because of their good looks.