Philippines President Duterte Slammed For Promoting Rape, Again

In his speech, he said that as long as there are beautiful women, there will be rape cases.

File photo of Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte. Image used for representational purposes.

(Photo: AP) 

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has made a shocking comment about rape, yet again. This time, Duterte put his foot in it while addressing the rising crime rate in the southern city of Davao, in particular the number of rapes.

In a speech he delivered on Thursday, 30 August, he was heard stating:

They said there are many rape cases in Davao. As long as there are many beautiful women, there will be more rape cases.

Rodrigo Duterte, as reported by <i>The Washington Post </i>

Duterte was referring to a recent police report that Davao, his hometown where he once served as mayor, had recorded significant instances of sexual violence, The Washington Post reports.

He followed this appalling statement with: “Who agrees to do it on the first request anyway? Will the woman allow it? No. 'Don’t, no, ahhh.' Nobody agrees to do it on the first try," he added, to peals of laughter from the audience.

Women’s Rights Groups Condemn Duterte

Duterte, who has a reputation for making insensitive and brash statements, was condemned by activists affiliated with women’s rights groups across the world, for “normalising rape”, Al Jazeera reports.

Duterte seems to hate women so much that he comes up with statements that help normalise rape. This is unacceptable. Not from anyone, especially not from the highest official of the land. Not only does he advance the idea that rape normally happens to beautiful women, he makes men believe that it is okay to rape.

Filipino women’s rights activist Elizabeth Angsioco told <i>Al Jazeera </i>

"For decades, Filipino feminists have worked for women's rights to be respected, recognised and enshrined in our laws. We've had some success with the progressive pro-women laws. Duterte is destroying all our gains and that pushes us back to the dark ages,” Al Jazeera quotes her as saying.

In an attempt to defend the President’s statement, Harry Roque, Duterte’s spokesman told New York Times:

“I don’t think we should give too much weight on what the president says by way of a joke. They’re (activists) not okay with rape jokes, but let’s just say that perhaps the standard of what is offensive and what is not offensive is more liberal in the south.”

This isn’t the first time that Duterte has made a pro-rape statement like this.

In July 2017, Duterte said that it was probably acceptable for someone to rape the winner of Miss Universe, an international beauty pageant, but not to rape children. In another instance, he had said that soldiers working in areas where martial law had been declared could “rape three women without facing punishment”, The Washington Post stated.

He had even called his own daughter a “drama queen”, when she alleged that she has been sexually assaulted, The New York Times reports.

(With inputs from The Washington Post, The New York Times and Al Jazeera)