Dubai: Filipino victims of rape or sex-related crimes should not let fear nor their non-confrontational culture prevent them from reporting the crime and allow their attackers go free, said an official from the Philippine Embassy.
Vice-Consul Rowena Daquipil, head of the Assistance to Nationals (ATN) Section at the embassy, urged Filipino victims to speak up and not suffer in silence. She was speaking following a rape case they had won in favour of a Filipina victim in the capital on Sunday. Her attacker was found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison.
Daquipil said this is an example of the fact that justice in the UAE applies to all, one just needs to go through the system.
“What’s interesting about this case is the victim had filed a police case even before seeking our help. This case is exceptional because there are many instances where the victims choose to not file a case and just request to be repatriated,” Daquipil told Gulf News.
“When victims come to us for help, we request for financial assistance from the Legal Assistance Fund (LAF) intended for overseas Filipinos from the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila. This covers the legal and all other fees required,” Daquipil said.
Daquipil said, so far, all their requests for legal assistance have been approved. The embassy received more than $200,000 (Dh734,000) to handle the cases of 68 individuals in 2015, of which seven were rape.
Sadly, however, Daquipil said roughly two out of five victims they help back out due to many reasons, including fear of loss of job or income loss. They risk being sued in the process though.
In Dubai, Deputy Consul-General Giovanni Palec said for the first quarter of 2016, they received funding of $90,000 for the 11 cases that needed it, including one for prosecuting a rape case, while the rest were for defence for other cases. The LAF cannot be used to help those with money- or bank-related cases.
“The Legal Assistance Fund is for the defence of Filipinos who have been wrongfully accused by their employers or someone else. We consider the circumstances, evaluate the complainant, and request for funding to help them,” Palec told Gulf News. The fund is also for helping rape victims pursue cases.
Palec, however, clarified that due to the limited government funding, not all cases can be helped. Criteria are set and priority is given to those whose cases have the highest punishment including death penalty and life imprisonment, among others.
“For rape cases, we urge victims to immediately report to the police so they can immediately collect forensic evidence. Do not compromise, do not wait it out, do not settle out of court because this sends the wrong message to people with ill intentions,” Palec said.
