GUARDS UP. The Davao City Police Office (DCPO) cautions the public against meeting or trusting people they know via texting or social media, as the majority of the rape victims in the city have abusers who they met on those platforms. DCPO spokesperson Maj. Teresita Gaspan said Friday (Sept. 2, 2022) they have a desk especially for women and children for victims to help them report their abusers. (PNA photo by Christine Cudis)
DAVAO CITY -- The Davao City Police Office (DCPO) has cautioned women from physically meeting "textmates" or online "chatmates" who are strangers, as authorities recorded an increase in rape cases in recent months.
DCPO spokesperson Maj. Teresita Gaspan said Friday they have recorded 100 rape cases from January-August 2022.
Forty-nine of those victims, Gaspan said, met their attackers through text messaging and online social media apps.
"These abusers are already someone they know via text or connected in social media. This sends us a message to not easily trust on people and always higher our guards," she said.
Gaspan said 100 rape cases recorded in the first half of 2022 indicated an increase from the 104 reported cases in 2021.
On the positive side, she said the high reporting rate means that victims of sexual abuse are gaining confidence to report perpetrators.
"We have been strengthening our linkages to potential victims by conducting educational awareness among school teachers as students who have fallen victims to these crimes would also see them as someone they can confide to," said Gaspan, who also chairs the DCPO's Women and Children's Protection Desk.
Of the rape cases logged so far this year, 91 of the victims are female, while nine are male. Also, 82 of the victims are minors.
The victims’ are between 5 and 45-years-old but the majority of them are within the age bracket of 12 to 17-years-old, followed by 18 to 25-years-old, and 6 to 11 years old.
Meanwhile, Integrated Gender and Development Division (IGDD) chief Lorna Mandin said gender sensitivity education must be taught to children during their developing years.
The division and the Department of Education have recently signed a memorandum of agreement to integrate educational materials on gender-related crimes such as sexual abuse and exploitation into the curriculum.
Under the MOA, which is the first of its kind in the city, children will be taught how to discern gender-based crimes and how to deal with them.
“This is what we are monitoring, if it is effective enough or if it needs further modification),” Mandin said.
Apart from this, cooperation between the city’s hospitals and the police is also being bolstered to better monitor victims of gender-based violence. (PNA)
