Almost everyone I know is talking about the latest news that Nicole doubts she was raped in an affidavit she executed before her departure to the USA for good.

Comments/questions now arise with regards to the Filipina image.

….which demonstrates yet again that another Filipina would choose money over honor?

What does FilipinaImages.com say about this? A few critics (especially from dating websites) of FilipinaImages.com communicated with me that the Filipinaimages.com is a useless site because the Filipina Image is already tarnished to begin with. In FilipinaImages.com, we are not here to clean the image of the Filipina, rather we seek balance. We don’t seek perfection. We repeat: We seek balance in the Filipina images that are available online. We share our reflections about what the Filipina of the Future could be like, too. Dignity is every person’s human right. Whether the Filipina is a mother, a nanny, a decision maker in the corporate arena, a domestic service professional (formerly known as “domestic worker”), or a mail order bride, they have the right to empower themselves — through education, through equal rights in the household and the workplace, through connecting with people who want the same — and more.

A few have said that Nicole brought dishonor to Filipinas around the world. That doesn’t make her less a Filipina. It is a matter of perception. Some say Nicole is not the enemy. Some say she brought dishonor to Filipinas around the world.

I cannot speak for other bloggers of Filipina Images. As another filipina, I can’t help feeling disappointed over her choice but I am not Nicole. However, we are all entitled to own these feelings of anger, disappointment or denial and know that there is a time to let go. I do not know the pressure she has to go through yet I try to understand the reasons why she did not recant earlier before Daniel Smith got his conviction. She knows the truth. There may have been factors heavy enough to crush determination and courage. Nicole has walked a long, long way in this ordeal; longer than most women who have suffered rape.

I can’t also help feeling sad over other Filipina victims of rape who might be placed in an unfair situation over the authenticity of their situation due to Nicole’s recantation. I hope not. Despite the disappointment, let’s keep tabs of women victims of violence.

Ding Gagelonia further adds that the US State Departnent’s 2008 Report on Human Rights in the Philippines devotes all of 716 words to narrating how women fare in our society.

Rape, including spousal rape, is illegal, but enforcement was ineffective. Rape continued to be a problem, with most cases unreported. At year’s end the PNP reported 3,549 rape cases, more than four times the 2007 figure. The increase may be attributable to improved reporting capability through women’s and children’s desks at police stations. There were reports of rape and sexual abuse of women in police or protective custody–often women from marginalized groups, such as suspected prostitutes, drug users, and lower-income individuals arrested for minor crimes.

Violence against women remained a serious problem. The law criminalizes physical, sexual, and psychological harm or abuse to women and their children committed by their spouses or partners. As of December the PNP reported 706 cases of wife battering and physical injuries. This number likely underreported significantly the level of violence against women.

A local women’s support group noted that, in smaller localities, perpetrators of abuse sometimes used personal relationships with local authorities to avoid prosecution. On other occasions women who sought to file complaints through the police were told to pay special fees before their complaints could be registered.

The PNP and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) both maintained help desks to assist victims of violence against women and to encourage the reporting of crimes. With the assistance of NGOs, officers received gender sensitivity training to deal with victims of sexual crimes and domestic violence. Approximately 9 percent of PNP officers were women. The PNP has a Women and Children’s Unit to deal with these issues.

Prostitution is illegal but was a widespread problem. Many women suffered exposure to violence through their recruitment, often through deception, into prostitution. Penalties for prostitution are light, but detained prostitutes were sometimes subjected to administrative indignities and extortion. The DSWD continued to provide temporary shelter and counseling to women engaged in prostitution. Through year’s end, DSWD provided temporary shelter and counseling to 103 women who were victims of involuntary prostitution. Some local officials discouraged the prosecution of those who exploited prostitutes. There were no convictions under the provision of the law criminalizing the act of engaging the services of a prostitute.

Sex tourism and trafficking in persons for sexual exploitation and forced labor were serious problems.

The law prohibits sexual harassment. However, sexual harassment in the workplace was widespread and underreported due to victims’ fear of losing their jobs. Sexual harassment at a shoe factory in Muntinlupa City spurred unionization and a strike in July; in November management reinstated dismissed employees and recognized the workers’ union.

Female employees in special economic zones were particularly at risk; most were economic migrants who had no independent workers’ organization to assist with filing complaints. Women in the retail industry worked on three- to five month contracts and were often reluctant to report sexual harassment for fear their contracts would not be renewed. There were reports that some firms took action against female employees who became pregnant.

The law does not provide for divorce, although courts generally recognize the legality of divorces obtained in other countries if one of the parties is a foreign national. The government recognizes religious annulment, but the process can be costly, which precludes annulment as an option for many women. Many lower-income couples simply separated informally without severing their marital ties. The family code provides that in child custody cases resulting from annulment, illegitimacy, or divorce in another country, children under the age of seven are placed in the care of the mother unless there is a court order to the contrary. Children over the age of seven normally also remained with the mother, although the father could dispute custody through the courts.

In law, but not always in practice, women have most of the rights and protections accorded to men. Although they faced workplace discrimination, women continued to occupy senior positions in the workforce. In a January labor force survey, 57 percent of government officials, corporate executives, managers, and supervisors were women. The unemployment rate for women was 6.7 percent, while the rate for men was 7.8 percent.

The National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women, composed of 10 government officials and 11 NGO leaders appointed by the president, acted as an oversight body whose goal is to press for effective implementation of programs benefiting women.

There are more Filipina victims/survivors of crimes and violence that need our attention Let’s learn from Nicole’s experience and use it in a positive light. I am with Ding when he says that Against the backdrop of Nicole’s decision to leave behind her court battle in exchange for the promise of a materially-secure future and peace of mind, those who fought militantly for her honor must now move on. The struggle to win justice for thousands of other suffering Filipinas must still be fought.

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