ERMITA, Manila — In 2023, there were 9,387 cases of rape reported to the authorities, which translates to almost 26 people being raped every day, according to the University of the Philippines Law Center’s Institute of Human Rights.

However, this is just the tip of the iceberg as unreported cases are also prevalent because most victims of sexual abuse try to survive their ordeal by being quiet and totally avoiding the trauma and shame of exposing their experience to public ridicule.

To address this situation, the Supreme Court (SC) has ruled that victims do not need to prove resistance in cases of rape committed by force, threat, or intimidation.

In a statement, the High Tribunal pointed out that requiring ‘proof of resistance’ sets aside the fact that “women, as traditional victims of rape, have been conditioned to live for the male gaze and to believe that it is impolite to be assertive.”

Furthermore, the SC also cited that more importantly, proving that one resisted during the rape only “dismisses the fact that resisting a man’s sexual advances could harm a woman or get her killed.”

In addition, the Court added that in many instances of rape, the offender is someone the victim knows, such as in the case of incestuous rape where the victim is abused by a family member or relative.

It rationalized that a victim, especially a child, cannot be expected to resist her parent’s abuse in such cases.

“The assailant’s dominance over the child-victim is complete in cases like this,” the Supreme Court’s Third Division pointed out.

“Not only is the (elder member of the family) physically superior as a grown male adult compared to a physically immature child, he also asserts moral authority over the child,” it concluded.