Philippine Commission on Women pushes for amendment of Anti-Rape Law UNTV NewsMarch 9, 2017

Philippine Commission on Women pushes for amendment of Anti-Rape Law UNTV NewsMarch 9, 2017 MANILA, Philippines — Twenty-eight (28) women experience sexual assault every day, according to the data of the Philippine Statistics Authority. The data is based on the report of the Philippine National Police which shows an increase in the number of rape cases from the 4,700 in 2012 to 10,000 in 2015. This prompted the Philippine Commission on Women or PCW to push for the amendment of the Anti-Rape Law. In particular, the group wants rape to be also defined as a case of lack of consent. PCW Executive Director Emmeline Versoza said, “We’ve seen a lot of cases of date rape, where the rapist have become — have been acquitted… so the definition would be, if the girl says “no”, that should be enough, and there should be no need to determine if the victim struggled because usually when that happens, the women just freeze and just don’t know what to do. So that should be the center of rape.” The group also calls on Congress to impose heavier punishment on sexual assault of minors. Versoza added, “The rapist gets higher penalties if he rapes a 12 year old. But if he rapes a 15 year old, he should be also getting a higher penalty because below 16 is still a child…so we want to raise the age of discernment. ” Meanwhile, the PWC noted that women’s group are in favor of imposing reclusion perpetua to those found guilty of rape. However, the group has yet to release its stand on the reimposition of death penalty on rape cases. PCW Chairperson Dr. Rhodora Masilang-Bucoy said, “But as of now, among the — among the women’s groups, there are still that the best punishment would be reclusion perpetua. So, whoever the person that committed rape will suffer instead of immediately snapping back.” — Rosalie Coz|UNTV News and Rescue The post Philippine Commission on Women pushes for amendment of Anti-Rape Law appeared first on UNTV News.