RAPE VICTIMS PROOF OF RESISTANCE NOT REQUIRED IN CASES, SC

The Supreme Court expound ruling on victims don’t need to prove resistance in rape cases (Photo courtesy of Philippine News Agency)

The Supreme Court (SC) has ruled that victims of rape do not need to prove that they resisted if the act was committed by force, threat, or intimidation.

Citing in the decision of the Third Division promulgated on June 26, 2024 where a father who was an accused filed an appeal before the high court was found guilty of raping his daughter from when she was nine years old until she was sixteen years old by sexual assault, qualified rape and slight physical injuries.

The High Court cited Article 266-A of the Revised Penal Code in upholding its conviction which states that there is rape when sexual intercourse is done “(a) through force, threat, or intimidation; (b) when the victim is unconscious or deprived of reason; (c) through fraud or abuse of authority; or (d) when the victim is under 12 years old or is demented.”

The Court also ruled that in rape cases such force, threat, or intimidation was committed, it is strong enough to prevent the victims from asserting their will, determined from the victims’ perspective.

"The right of women to autonomy and bodily integrity should be recognized and respected. The belief that if a woman does not resist, then she consents to the rape is unacceptable in any civilized society. It presumes that men are entitled to free access to a woman’s body at any given time and place," it added.

Furthermore, in such cases that a cannot be expected to resist her own father’s abuse, not just because of physical superiority but also due to the moral authority he asserts over his child according to the High Court. “Thus, when the offender is the father and the victim is his minor child, moral ascendancy or influence replaces the element of violence or intimidation.”

“Rape is perhaps the only crime where the trial often focuses on the conduct of the victim instead of that of the accused. The need to prove lack of consent often becomes a question of the victim’s behavior, her history, and her conduct before, during, and after the rape as implying that some women can be ‘bad enough’ to be raped while others, because of their background, choices, and conduct, are simply lying when they claim that they were raped. It is time to strike down such uninformed and ignorant views,” the high court said.

Source: ABS-CBN News 

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