JUSTICE FOR BELLE*! JUSTICE FOR VICTIMS OF STATE-PERPETRATED VIOLENCE!

The Center for Womenโ€™s Resources joins the call for justice for Belle*, a 15-year old victim of kidnapping, torture, and rape by elements of the 59th IBPA between July to August 2020.

Last January 21, Belle, together with her mother, has come forward and sought help from womenโ€™s organizations and human rights institutions to speak against the abuses she and her family has experienced in the hands of military and paramilitary forces in the past years. They also filed cases against civilians, including a DSWD officer from Lopez, Quezon, for serious illegal detention.

Belleโ€™s mother, Ofel, is a member of Coco Levy Fund Ibalik Sa Amin (CLAIM – QUEZON), an organization of coconut farmers who have long been subjected to red tagging and forced surrender under the e-CLIP Amnesty Program of the NFT-ELCAC. After her ordeal in the hands of her perpetrators, Belle and her family continued to receive threats from state forces.

Rape, and other forms of violence, are used as tools for repression by the state to instill fear against the people, especially women and children, to suppress clamor for their basic rights. It has been used as a form of intimidation against community leaders and their families. In the last six years, state-perpetrated abuse against women and children have become more prevalent, with no one less than President Duterte blatantly enabling such violence, through his repulsive and misogynist remarks on rape and violence.

CWR has monitored not less than 81 police and military officers who have been involved in at least 55 cases of abuse against women and children, including at least 33 cases of rape, perpetrated by police and the military since President Duterte was sworn into office in July 2016 to the present.

Just last January 15, another state perpetrator from the QCPD Crime Laboratory Office was arrested for rape and child abuse against a 17-year old girl form Quezon City. There were also at least seven other state-perpetrated VAWC cases reported since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Center for Womenโ€™s Resources continues to stand with Belle, her family, and all victims of state-perpetrated abuses. We remain steadfast is our commitment to forward the call to end violence against women and to hold perpetrators accountable for their crimes.


*Name withheld for security purposes

๐—ช๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป’๐˜€ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฐ๐—ต ๐—ก๐—š๐—ข ๐˜€๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ฑ๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—บ ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ-๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ, ๐—ฒ๐˜…๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐˜€๐˜‚๐—ฝ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜€๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ฒ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—”๐—ป๐˜๐—ถ-๐—ฅ๐—ฎ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ ๐—Ÿ๐—ฎ๐˜„

The Center for Women’s Resources raises concern against another police-perpetrated rape of a female rider in a checkpoint in Mabalacat, Pampanga on October 8.

Police-perpetrated violence against women has been a systemic issue, despite promises of reforms in the PNP. CWR records at least seven reported cases of state-perpetrated violence against women since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020 to the present, including the rape-slay of a minor by two policemen in Ilocos Sur last year, and at least two cases of police-perpetrated rape against women who have been apprehended for violating quarantine measures. There have also been reports of โ€œsex-for-passโ€ especially during the enhanced community quarantine. Men in uniform have abused the strict implementation of lockdowns to further violate womenโ€™s rights.

CWR also notes that there have been 56 police officers who have been involved in 33 cases of abuse against women, including 16 cases of rape during the first two years of Pres. Duterte in office, from July 2016 to March 2018.

Pres. Duterte with his long list of disparaging remarks against women, blatantly enables perpetrators to commit violence against women. He himself has repeatedly and proudly violated women, and has never shown remorse in doing so.

CWR expresses utmost support in the passage of the amendments of the Anti-Rape Law. Higher penalties need to be imposed on perpetrators who gravely abuse their power and commit such heinous crimes.

Women and children who are victims of violence have suffered too much, with the delays in the pursuit of justice, much more when perpetrators are in uniform. We must remain vigilant in holding perpetrators accountable and ensuring that those who continue to support such acts be removed from power. #

Paying tribute to mothers: Call for an end to poverty, social injustice, and violence

This Motherโ€™s Day, the Center for Womenโ€™s Resources (CWR), a 37-year research and training institution for women, urges the public to genuinely pay tribute to mothers not only by recognizing their sacrifices as homemaker, but also by calling for an end to societal ills that burden all mothers, especially those who belong to the marginalized sectors.

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