MANILA, Philippines — Philippine National Police spokesperson Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac on Wednesday held up the slogan coined by the PNP Women and Children Protection Center (WCPC) for its “firm stand against women’s abuse and victim blaming.”
The phrase, ‘Ito ay dress. Hindi ito yes (This is a dress, not a yes)’ “echoes the PNP’s full support of the national advocacy to protect and uphold the rights of women and children,” Banac said.
The phrase was a response to the outrage expressed by netizens over an earlier social media post by the Lucban municipal police station in Quezon province that advised women to dress decently to avoid rape.
The post has since been taken down. PNP-WCPC spokesperson Col. Joy Tomboc said its unit’s social media information campaign was regularly assessed and developed in workshops with women’s rights advocacy groups to ensure the right messaging on gender sensitivity and respect for women.
The PNP-WCPC also came up with the Facebook post “Pag nagsuot ba ako ng mahal na relo, gusto kong manakawan? Hindi (If I wore an expensive watch, would I want to be robbed? No).”
The post, Tomboc said, was a reminder that one’s manner of dressing is not an invitation or excuse to commit a crime.
Banac said the slogan should also “serve as a stern warning to would-be sexual predators that the PNP will go after criminals who victimize women and children.”
—Jeannette I. Andrade