Ahem. Ano daw? Acquittal ba kamo? Truly? Siryusly? Nakaka-bad trip 'di ba?
If the law can't protect you from being taking advantage off by foreigners in your own country (in this case, from rape), then where are you safe?
Na-acquit nga si Daniel Smith, and take note, mga gehls po ang nag-acquit sa kanya. Yung mga inaasahan na makaka-simpatiya sa isang rape victim na babae pa ang naglahad ng mga super-archaic and bizarre na conclusions leading to an acquittal. Such as:
1. “No evidence was introduced to show force, threat and intimidation applied by the accused (Smith) upon Nicole, even as the prosecution vainly tried to highlight her supposed intoxication and alleged unconsciousness at the time of the sexual act.” Ganun? So wala nang saysay ang "no means no" and "you can say no at ANY time" na tinuturo natin sa mga gehls? Basta kung walang force, hindi na rape? So kung i-roofie ka sa bar, hindi ka makapalag kasi unconscious ka, at dalhin ka sa kung saan para gamitin ang katawan mo, edi hindi ka na-rape? Kasi walang force? WOW! Ang galing-galing talaga ng ating mga hurado! Why don't they return the previous classification of rape na rin, na crime against chastity, while they're at it.
2. “When a woman is drunk, she can hardly rise, much more stand up and dance, or she would just drop. This is a common experience among Filipino girls.” Avah! Nag-generalize ang mga hurado! Common experience pala ito sa mga Pinoy gehls! Any girls reading this, chime in if this is a "common experience" for you when you drink. I know I've danced with lots of girls while they were drunk/tipsy, and they were all excellent dancers.
3. "The curious thing is that she danced non-stop to the urgent beat of rock and hip-hop music in an inebriated state for 15 minutes without stumbling clumsily on the floor.” Ito, maliban sa lame argument, funny lang na statement. I'm imagining three old ladies sitting around a table talking about the (ahem) "urgent" beat of rock and hip-hop... Hahaha! Anyway, THIS is their evidence she wasn't raped? She was dancing, ergo, she wasn't drunk, ergo, she couldn't have not consented? Jesus H. Christ! Clearly, these old biddies have never been on a bender. I've managed to get home stone-cold drunk without knowing how. Apparently, I was able to give the taxi driver directions on how to navigate the complicated route through our subdivision to our house. And our house is WAY inside the subdivision, so you're not just going to happen upon it basta-basta. But I'd be hard-pressed to explain how, seeing as the next thing I remember after leaving the club is being in the taxi pulling up at our gate. Lots of us are perfectly capable of remote-controlling ourselves through certain situations while drunk, even if we're not totally conscious how.
4. Ay, but the worst: The court concluded that Nicole’s portrayal of herself as a “demure provinciana lass going on a first-time vacation to Subic” as mere “deceptive posturing.” Attack the victim! Man, ano sila, defense ni Smith? So kung hindi ka "demure," edi hindi ka p'wedeng ma-rape! Anything that happens to you is surely consensual, anyway, slutty ka naman! Delightful!
I don't know where these judges read up on rape (and surely they have extensively, they're CA justices for god's sake), but I was always told that a girl has the right to say no at ANY time, even if she's just about to have sex with a guy. If, at this time, she changes her mind, it's her right, and the guy must stop. None of that she's-leading-me-on bullshit. And if you're drunk and unconscious/semi-conscious, can you really give consent? I thought the Makati RTC judge had conclusively stated you cannot. Rape is rape, whether the woman clawed and bit at the rapist to fight him off, or lay there because she was frozen in fear or drunk. If she didn't say YES, then it's not consensual. Simple.
Maybe forty years was a bit much, but Smith did rape and he should have been punished. And now, after getting fat in "detention" at the US Embassy (Have you seen the pics? Magpakulong na rin kaya ako sa US Embassy, mukhang mabubusog ako...), he's off and free? Gawd, this is the country I have sisters in? Where female judges will let men get away with rape? Holy shit.
Spontaneous romantic encounter lang daw? Kelan pa naging romantic ang rape? Aba, kung gan'un, magpa-rape na tayong lahat next Valentine's. Tutal malaya na rin naman si Smith, I'm sure he'll be willing to help.
Ang dami talagang hayop sa Pilipinas tsk tsk. I lab my gobyerno talaga...
Friday, May 08, 2009
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4 comments:
Hi Ajeet, Catherine here.. yes I read this! Lots in Tagalog this time round, but I get the gist and I'm with you on this one. I read something about the case briefly on someone else's facebook... sadly it was a Filipina girl's facebook, and someone had commented that based on the victim's past behaviour, the verdict was understandable. WTF?!
And the same thing happens all the time in Britain. I believe about 5.7% of rape cases end up in conviction. And 30% of UK university students mean a woman is at least partially responsible for being raped if she was dressed provocatively, drunk or walking alone in a dangerous area. That's students.
I'm starting a feminist blog next week. All this makes me too angry to express myself fully but I'm going to have a go...
Hope all's well with you
Cx
Catherine! How are you? I'm glad you got the gist; I find it much more satisfying to bitch in Tagalog LOL!
I find it infuriating when they blame the victim. What you're wearing, how you're behaving, whatever, none of that is an invitation to rape.
So where's you're blog? I'll try to figure out how to link up :-)
That decision was underscored by so much prejudice, no, bigotry, that it's laughable and infuriating at the same time. And it reads like one of those cheap romance novels you buy at 7-11.
Rape cases are always hard because you end up assassinating the character of the victim, and most of the time they just cower and concede to avoid the trauma. But this, ibang level ito.
Ibang level talaga. And don't look now but another girl has come forward saying she was raped by an American soldier last month. Pero ayaw niya daw mag-file ng kaso, baka matulad na lang daw siya kay Nicole. This is exactly what I've been thinking, that now, women will be afraid to file because they'll feel that, on top of having been raped, they'll probably be taken apart in public by the very government that's supposed to protect them. Gademmit talaga tsk tsk.
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