PHL Commission on Women: Sexual abuse is no laughing matter

Sexual assault is not something to laugh about and make fun of, the Philippine Commission on Women said on Monday in a statement that also calls out public officials who "continue to perpetuate misogyny" and trivialize rape with their comments.

Any sexual abuse "is an abhorrent attack on a person’s self-worth and should never be used as subject matter to prove a point," the PCW's statement, released on the occasion of its 44th anniversary, stressed.

"It is no laughing matter to use sexual abuse anecdotes which treat women as sex objects to 'lighten' discussions in public assemblies," it added.

Last month, during the distribution of the Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) to agrarian reform beneficiaries in Kidapawan City, President Rodrigo Duterte launched into a tirade against the Catholic Church and its abuses, but in doing so included a story about himself as a teenager sneaking into a maid's room and touching her under her clothes as she slept.

"The Commission is beyond dismayed to note that public officials, who are supposed to uphold the dignity of its citizens, especially women, promote gender equality, and be exemplars of honor and integrity, continue to perpetuate misogyny grounded on power," the PCW said.

Duterte is no stranger to making misogynistic statements. He has joked about wanting to join in the gang rape of a missionary; shooting female rebels in the vagina so that they would be rendered "useless"; and allowing soldiers to rape women.

The Palace has excused his remarks, with then-spokesperson Harry Roque referring to regional "humor" last August and current spokesperson Salvador Panelo saying that the maid story was made up and that a women's group that had condemned it had lost its ability to discern "a reality from a rebuke."

Panelo also said that Duterte will not apologize for the story and will keep telling "concocted" tales to make his point.

Senator Aquilino Pimentel III, a Duterte ally, said the President's comment was something he had repeatedly told in the past and asked if it was really something to "waste" one's time over. "And if ever that happened, that was when he was a teenager probably at 13. He is now 73," he said.

The PCW, an agency under the Office of the President, is the primary policy-making and coordinating body on women and gender equality concerns. It  is tasked with "[creating] an enabling environment for government and other stakeholders to be more responsive in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls." — BM, GMA News