Rape ‘jokes’ from the Philippines’ Duterte trivialise sexual violence

Reuben James Barrete says the Philippine president’s repeated use of the topic of rape to raise laughs glorifies and normalises such acts, desensitising a country where a woman or child is raped each hour

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President Rodrigo Duterte inspects an honour guard as he attends celebrations for the 119th anniversary of the Philippine Navy in Davao, Mindanao, on May 31. Duterte imposed martial law in Mindanao on May 23. Photo: AFP

Published: 4:03pm, 4 Jun 2017Updated: 6:24pm, 4 Jun 2017

President Rodrigo Duterte is a figure of power in the Philippines, but instead of using this strength to protect the people, this “strongman” – as most people call him – regards rape as a matter of entertainment. Worse, he uses it as encouragement for the military: after imposing martial law in Mindanao, he told soldiers stationed there that they were allowed to rape up to three women.

This tasteless joke is nothing but an encouragement of the normalisation of rape culture, and ignores the misery that results from such crimes.

Violence against women feeds on a culture that promotes [their] exploitation and oppression

A report by the Philippine Commission on Women shows one woman or child is raped every hour in the country. This is based on police records cited by the Centre for Women’s Resources from January to October last year, wherein there were 7,303 reported rape cases in the entire country.

The Philippine Statistics Authority reported 4,605 cases of rape, acts of lasciviousness, and attempted and incestuous rape in 2016, for women alone.

These figures are not just statistics; these are people who have been delivered a life sentence of perpetual hurting.

Violence against women feeds on a culture that promotes the exploitation and oppression of women, and turns them into dehumanised sexual objects.