Dangerous time for women, says group

COMFORT WOMEN’S RALLY Members of Lila Filipinas, an organization of Filipino victims of Japanese wartime military sexual slavery, call for the termination of the Philippines-Japan defense memorandum signed in 2015 by the Japanese Ministry of Defense and the Philippine Department of National Defense during a rally in front of the Japanese Embassy in Pasay City on Monday. —JOAN BONDOC

MANILA, Philippines — It is a “dangerous time” for Filipino women under the Duterte administration, a research and training institution for women said on Monday.

The increased aggression is largely due to President Rodrigo Duterte himself, known for his misogynistic remarks, according to the Center for Women’s Resources (CWR).

Mary Joan Guan, the center’s executive director, said women were facing more dangers now because the government itself had escalated its actions against them.

“Repression and threats against women have intensified under the Duterte administration,” she said in an interview on the sidelines of the launch of the “Ulat Lila” report, which discusses the current state of women in the country.

“And with the misogynistic remarks that he very freely says, his cohorts think that they can get away with it, too,” Guan added.

Disparaging comments

Local and international women’s groups, as well as female lawmakers, have condemned Duterte for his disparaging comments about women. Some of these remarks and actions were said and done even as early as his presidential bid four years ago.

In Ulat Lila, CWR said it had monitored and recorded at least 30 misogynistic remarks made by the President.

Throughout his presidency, he has made several jokes about perpetuating rape, which have been repeatedly defended by his spokesperson and other allies. In a speech in 2018, he ordered soldiers to shoot female guerrilla fighters in the vagina.

“Alarmingly, the most powerful man in the country perpetuates misogyny,” the report read. “He openly encourages violence against women and contributes to the culture of impunity.”

Violence against women

Such heightened impunity is made evident in the abuses suffered by girls and women in the country, which still persist despite the enactment of several laws, executive and administrative orders that aim to protect them.

From April to June 2019 alone, nearly 10,000 cases of violence against women and children nationwide were reported to the Philippine National Police’s Women and Children Protection Center.

CWR said that from these cases, 6,315 women and 6,054 children were reported as victims, translating to one woman or one child experiencing violence every 10 minutes.

Women from low-income households tend to experience more abuse, whether emotional, physical or sexual, the report said.

It also noted that authorities had also become “bolder” in committing abuses against women and girls. By monitoring news reports from July 2016 to December 2019, the center found that 63 police officers were involved in cases against women, including rape.

Prevalence of rape

“The PNP-Internal Affairs Service has confirmed the prevalence of rape involving police officials, saying that 43 police officials have been charged administratively for rape complaints since 2015,” the report said.

Women human rights defenders and activists are also left vulnerable to attacks by state forces, CWR said.

Since July 2016, 40 women, including community organizers and rights defenders, have been killed by police, military or paramilitary groups.