Rape cases up in Iloilo
ILOILO
CITY
Sept.
7, 2014
While authorities today concentrate on illegal drugs, another crime appears to be on the rise – rape and sexual
assaults against women.
This year’s rate in rape incidents in Iloilo is higher
than the 2013 figure, reports from the Philippine National Police show.
One hundred fifty-three women were raped in Iloilo
Province in 2013, records from the PNP Children and Women’s Desk shows. That
means, a woman is raped every 2.3 days in the period.
But the frequency increased in the first semester
(January – June) this year with 104 incidents, or one raped in 1.7 days.
The report does not cover other forms of sexual abuse on women.
The report does not cover other forms of sexual abuse on women.
Iloilo Province (pop. 1.8 million) has 42 towns and one
component city. Passi City tops the list with 11 rape incidents followed by
Miagao town with 10. New Lucena, Pototan, San Enrique, Carles and San Dionisio
have seven each.
Passi and Miagao maintained their rankings in the first
semester this year, with 10 and six respectively, followed by Dumangas and
Lambunao towns with five cases each.
The source at the PNP cautions the media from tagging
Passi City (50 km north of this city) and Miagao (40 km south) as “rape
capitals” of the province.
“Reports on rape more likely than not, might be mere tip of the iceberg, so called,” said the source. “Many victims prefer to
suffer in silence fearing they and their families might be exposed to public
embarrassment if they reported to the police.”
Last year, 63 rape cases were filed in court, this year
32 as of June, in Iloilo Province. Criminal complaints for sex crimes may be
filed by the victims, their parents and guardians, social workers and the
police.
The regional office of the Department of Social Welfare
and Development (DSWD) runs a refuge center for battered women but not one for
rape victims who are also in need of professional psycho-social intervention to
heal.
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