Silence
Most victims of gang rape remain silent for months before reporting the crime. Obet Montes, coordinator for services of the women's group GABRIELA, says this is due to the victim’s fear of society’s judgment, of not wanting to be branded as “maruming babae” ("dirty woman"). The group says further that a rape victim becomes so afraid that she is going to be blamed for the crime, that she denies that she was violated.
Claire Padilla, a lawyer and advocate of women's rights who prosecuted the case of a 19-year old who had the mental capacity of a six-year old, says that a rape victim who keeps silent becomes easy prey for continued abuse.
Read more about this topic: Rape In The Philippines
Famous quotes containing the word silence:
“For what but eye and ear silence the mind
With the minute particulars of mankind?”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“I have a talent for silence and brevity. I can keep silent when it seems best to do so, and when I speak I can, and do usually, quit when I am done. This talent, or these two talents, I have cultivated. Silence and concise, brief speaking have got me some laurels, and, I suspect, lost me some. No odds. Do what is natural to you, and you are sure to get all the recognition you are entitled to.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)
“These things shine:
The sports of a lord,
the jealousy of a beloved woman,
the forbearance of the powerful,
the speech of the wise,
and the silence of fools.”
—Hla Stavhana (c. 50 A.D.)