Brothers and sisters, in the letters of Saint Paul to the Galatians 5:19-21 and to the Ephesians 5:3-5, it is clear that Christians should avoid any immoral, gross, and obscene act, including “senseless conversations and bad jokes.”
In the past week, a Facebook post of a police station in Lucban, Quezon became viral and garnered plenty of criticisms after the said station reminded women “not to wear revealing clothing” for them not to be disrespected. Many social-media users commented on this message, saying that women should not be blamed for the disrespect they experience, or when they become victims of rape. It is sad to note that this is not the first time a PNP station posted a message like this about rape. If we recall in 2018, the Angono PNP released a few tips on how to avoid rape, including a tip not to wear any revealing clothing.
These are examples of what we call “victim-blaming,” which plays a large part in rape culture. This culture focuses on the victims being the reason why they are disrespected, violated, taken advantage of, or molested, instead of those who commit the crimes.
This mindset is wrong, and it is worrying that it is widely prevalent in institutions mandated to defend citizens, especially the victims of cruelty.
According to PNP data, from 2019 to February 2020, recorded cases of rape almost reached 2,000, much higher than the 1,656 cases in 2018. Surely, there are still many cases not being reported.
Aside from the lack of women’s desks in some police precincts, victims of sexual abuse tend not to file a report because of fear that they would just be blamed for what happened to them, especially when people make judgments based on what the victims are wearing.
The truth is that women’s clothing has nothing to do with incidents pertaining to rape. Rape exists because there are rapists and there are people who look down on women. An exhibit was held in the past that featured rape victims and the clothes they were wearing, including the youngest one—aged 18 months old—that was surely not wearing any attractive clothing.
The repetitive reminders for women not to wear shorts or revealing clothing so as not to be abused is tantamount to social consent that women deserve to be disrespected because of their clothes. Because of this, judgment and blame fall on women, the victims.
We must be clear about the fact that clothes must not be used as the reason why women fall victims to cruelty and abuse. Let us remember that as long as there is a rapist among the people with crooked minds, there will be victims, no matter what clothes women wear.
On the issue of rape and taking advantage of women, we must blame the people who commit the abuse, not the poor victims. It is about time that we challenge and straighten this crooked way of thinking about rape and other forms of sexual abuse. Let us join the women in their fight to achieve their rights—rights rooted in human dignity and, in the perspective of faith, as creations in the likeness of God. Having a just society begins with us respecting the innate dignity of man.
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