Will someone please tell Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to stop making inappropriate comments about rape?
He made his latest controversial statement on the topic during a speech in Mandaue, Cebu, yesterday, where he attributed high rape cases in his hometown Davao to the “many beautiful women” in the area.
His full statement translates into English as: “They said there are many rape cases in Davao. As long as there are many beautiful women, there will be more rape cases.”
It’s victim blaming disguised as a compliment and delivered as a joke — and it’s one of the worst ways of promoting prevailing misconceptions about the issue.
As most woke people must know, physical attraction or finding someone “beautiful” is usually not the reason why rape happens.
It has more to do with power than anything else. The World Health Organization defines sexual assault as an “an aggressive act motivated by power and control.”
This is the reason why rape is used to disempower women during times of conflict. Reuters reported that in Syria, the government and militias have raped women and girls in what were perceived as communities critical of the government.
Instead of brushing off the topic, Duterte could have used his speech to shed light on the alarming number of rape cases in Davao.
Data released by the Philippine National Police last week show that in the second quarter of this year, Davao City had the highest number of rape cases at 42, GMA News reported. Quezon City followed with 41 and the City of Manila was third with 32.
But this may be too much to ask from a man who once said that he “should have been [the] first [person]” to participate in the gang rape of an Australian missionary in Davao because she was “beautiful.” A statement he has refused to apologize for.
In May, Duterte also gave soldiers a free pass to rape women amid martial law in Mindanao.
But Duterte’s actions speak louder than his words. And if there’s any doubt about his views on consent, his controversial public kiss with a married woman shows that he does not care much about it.
The kiss happened on stage and was “payment” for a book he was giving away. The president even said that he could not offer it to men because he wanted a kiss.
While the woman he kissed said that there was “no malice” and seemed fine with it, that does not let the president off the hook.
Consent is so much more than just saying “yes” or “no,” and the power dynamics of the situation must be taken into consideration, too.
Duterte’ latest statement has caused an uproar online with many criticizing him for his ignorance.
Human rights advocate Francis Baraan IV called him a “DIRTY, OLD PERVERT.”
Duterte just said the reason Davao City, his hometown, has the highest number of rape cases in the country, is b/c Davao has a lot of beautiful women.
ANOTHER RAPE JOKE FROM A DIRTY, OLD PERVERT, who hates all SUSPECTED drug peddlers, but understands why CONVICTED rapists rape!
— Francis Baraan IV (@MrFrankBaraan) August 31, 2018
Twitter user @psyofregression said that “Duterte must be blamed” if cases of rape increase in Davao.
https://twitter.com/psyofregression/status/1035365454020145152
While @djchika_ couldn’t help but be angry about Duterte’s statement.
https://twitter.com/djchika_/status/1035354872621588480
What did you think when you first saw Duterte’s latest comment? Let us know in the comments section below or tweet us @CoconutsManila.
