I. Introduction
A. Development of Rape in the
Rape is a heinous crime punishable by reclusion perpetua or life imprisonment. The classification of the crime of rape underwent through a series of amendments as time passed by. The Revised Penal Code succeeded the Spanish Penal Code of 1870 which was upheld in the
Art. 335. When and how rape is committed. — Rape is committed by having carnal knowledge of a woman under any of the following circumstances:
1. By using force or intimidation;
2. When the woman is deprived of reason or otherwise unconscious; and
3. When the woman is under twelve years of age, even though neither of the circumstances mentioned in the two next preceding paragraphs shall be present.
The crime of rape shall be punished by reclusion perpetua.
Whenever the crime of rape is committed with the use of a deadly weapon or by two or more persons, the penalty shall be reclusion perpetua to death.
When by reason or on the occasion of the rape, the victim has become insane, the penalty shall be death.
When rape is attempted or frustrated and a homicide is committed by reason or on the occasion thereof, the penalty shall be likewise death.
When by reason or on the occasion of the rape, a homicide is committed, the penalty shall be death. [2]
Republic Act 2632, an Act to amend Article Three Hundred and Thirty-Five of the Revised Penal Code, enacted on June 18, 1960, increased and amended the penalties imposed on rape on certain circumstances:
Art. 335. When and how rape is committed Penalties. Rape is committed by having carnal knowledge of a woman under any of the following circumstances:
1. By using force or intimidation;
2. When the woman is deprived of reason or otherwise unconscious; and
3. When the woman is under twelve years of age, even though neither of the circumstances mentioned in the two next preceding paragraphs shall be present:
The crime of rape shall be punished by reclusion temporal.
Whenever the crime of rape is committed with the use of a deadly weapon or by two or more persons, the penalty shall be imposed in its maximum period.
When by reason or on the occasion of the rape, a homicide is committed the penalty shall be reclusion perpetua to death.
When rape is frustrated or attempted and a homicide is committed by reason or on the occasion thereof, the penalty shall be reclusion perpetua.
When by reason or on the occasion of the rape, the victim has become insane the penalty shall be likewise reclusion perpetua. [3]
The penalty for simple rape from reclusion temporal to reclusion perpetua was enacted through Republic Act 4111 on June 20, 1964. Also, it imposed the penalty of reclusion perpetua to death when rape is committed by two or more persons or with the use of deadly weapons. And death was imposed whenever the on the occasion of attempted, frustrated or consummated rape, the crime of homicide is also committed or when by reason or on the occasion of rape, the victim has become insane.[4]
However, on September 30, 1997, Republic Act 8353 or the Anti-Rape Law of 1997 expanded the definition of the crime of rape and reclassified rape under Crimes against Persons –
Article 266-A. Rape: When and How Committed. - Rape is committed:
1) By a man who shall have carnal knowledge of a woman under any of the following circumstances:
a) Through force, threat, or intimidation;
b) When the offended party is deprived of reason or otherwise unconscious;
c) By means of fraudulent machination or grave abuse of authority; and
d) When the offended party is under twelve (12) years of age or is demented, even though none of the circumstances mentioned above be present.
2) By any person who, under any of the circumstances mentioned in paragraph 1 hereof, shall commit an act of sexual assault by inserting his penis into another person's mouth or anal orifice, or any instrument or object, into the genital or anal orifice of another person.
Article 266-B. Penalty. - Rape under paragraph 1 of the next preceding article shall be punished by reclusion perpetua.
Whenever the rape is committed with the use of a deadly weapon or by two or more persons, the penalty shall be reclusion perpetua to death.
When by reason or on the occasion of the rape, the victim has become insane, the penalty shall become reclusion perpetua to death.
When the rape is attempted and a homicide is committed by reason or on the occasion thereof, the penalty shall be reclusion perpetua to death.
When by reason or on the occasion of the rape, homicide is committed, the penalty shall be death.
The death penalty shall also be imposed if the crime of rape is committed with any of the following aggravating/qualifying circumstances:
1) When the victim is under eighteen (18) years of age and the offender is a parent, ascendant, step-parent, guardian, relative by consanguinity or affinity within the third civil degree, or the common-law spouse of the parent of the victim;
2) When the victim is under the custody of the police or military authorities or any law enforcement or penal institution;
3) When the rape is committed in full view of the spouse, parent, any of the children or other relatives within the third civil degree of consanguinity;
4) When the victim is a religious engaged in legitimate religious vocation or calling and is personally known to be such by the offender before or at the time of the commission of the crime;
5) When the victim is a child below seven (7) years old;
6) When the offender knows that he is afflicted with the Human Immuno-Deficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) or any other sexually transmissible disease and the virus or disease is transmitted to the victim;
7) When committed by any member of the Armed Forces of the Philippines or para-military units thereof or the Philippine National Police or any law enforcement agency or penal institution, when the offender took advantage of his position to facilitate the commission of the crime;
8) When by reason or on the occasion of the rape, the victim has suffered permanent physical mutilation or disability;
9) When the offender knew of the pregnancy of the offended party at the time of the commission of the crime; and
10) When the offender knew of the mental disability, emotional disorder and/or physical handicap of the offended party at the time of the commission of the crime.
Rape under paragraph 2 of the next preceding article shall be punished by prision mayor.
Whenever the rape is committed with the use of a deadly weapon or by two or more persons, the penalty shall be prision mayor to reclusion temporal.
When by reason or on the occasion of the rape, the victim has become insane, the penalty shall be reclusion temporal.
When the rape is attempted and a homicide is committed by reason or on the occasion thereof, the penalty shall be reclusion temporal to reclusion perpetua.
When by reason or on the occasion of the rape, homicide is committed, the penalty shall be reclusion perpetua.
Reclusion temporal shall be imposed if the rape is committed with any of the ten aggravating/ qualifying circumstances mentioned in this article.
Article 266-C. Effect of Pardon. - The subsequent valid marriage between the offender and the offended party shall extinguish the criminal action or the penalty imposed.
In case it is the legal husband who is the offender, the subsequent forgiveness by the wife as the offended party shall extinguish the criminal action or the penalty: Provided, that the crime shall not be extinguished or the penalty shall not be abated if the marriage is void ab initio.
Article 266-D. Presumptions. - Any physical overt act manifesting resistance against the act of rape in any degree from the offended party, or where the offended party is so situated as to render her/him incapable of giving valid consent, may be accepted as evidence in the prosecution of the acts punished under Article 266-A. [5]
The 1987 Constitution eventually removed the death penalty. But on December 13, 1993, Republic Act 7659 was passed which revived the capital punishment of death upon certain heinous crimes, including rape conducted under certain circumstances. While Republic Act 9346 which was passed on June 24, 2006 abolished the imposition of death penalty.[6] Hence, the highest possible penalty currently available in the
B. Scope
The paper intends to work within this parameter: is it physically possible for a woman to force a man to have sexual intercourse with her? Once proven thereafter, series of speculations and probable amendments in the law should be proposed.
C. Significance to Women
Discrimination against women is rampant all-over the world despite the deliberate attempts of the authorities and different activist groups to prevent and eliminate it. This discrimination is still evident in the
Although the concept doesn’t directly favor women, it should be regarded as a keystone in the promotion of gender parity in the
The balance between men and women should be tapped accordingly to attain what ought to be achieved. Not because discrimination is dominant against women over men, doesn’t mean the world should overlook the injustice against men.
II. Discussion
A. How Male Erection Occurs?
Sex or sexual intercourse is an act wherein a male reproductive organ enters a female reproductive tract. Copulation or the sexual union between a man and a woman won’t be possible without the erection of the male’s penis.
“The penis is shaped like a finger and consists of the urethra and three cylinder-shaped structures that are capable of erection. During sexual stimulation, when the cylinder-shaped erectile tissues become engorged with blood, the penis becomes hand and erect. The blood is not allowed to drain out via the veins because the veins are closed off by the surrounding tissues. Once ejaculation has take place, the veins open up, the blood can flow out, and the engorgement and hardness of the penis dissipate.”[8]
Hence, presumption is sex won’t be possible without the consent of the man. The man should have the initiative to perform copulation. Subsequently, both parties should be stimulated and be well-lubricated to copulate easier.
B. Scientific Claims
It is in human nature that male species are the aggressor concerning sexual intentions. They are recognized as the frontier in sexual interactions. Conversely, that outlook and perspective is stereotyping. It could be likewise conferred that men are stronger than women, which isn’t always true.
A man’s reproductive organ may erect while considering different environmental, physical and mental factors. It usually erects when a man gets sexually aroused or excited, or when someone fondles or toys with it, transmitting information from the brain to the nerves to erect. Furthermore, when it is too cold, the penis has the tendency to erect. Nocturnal emissions, commonly known as “wet dreams”, are also possible factors that stimulate the erection of the penis. These are boys’ uncontrolled ejaculation of semen during sleep. These are common especially among boys twelve to eighteen of age. These incidents usually lessen when the males start masturbating or become sexually active.
Also, a man who drinks sildenafil citrate, with the most common trade name of Viagra, will consequently have his penis erected even without his approval or without being sexually aroused. Its primary competitors are Levitra, with a half-life of 4 hours similar to Viagra, and Cialis with a longer half-life of 17.5 hours.[9]
Viagra acts by inhibiting an enzyme that regulates the blood flow in the penis.[10] The drug was usually designed to cure the coronary heart disease or angina. However, it wasn’t effective but produced an unexpected benefit. It is a treatment for erectile dysfunction, or the inability of the penis to make an erection. However, experiments showed that healthy potent men who took the drug showcased dramatic improvements in their erection. [11]
Moreover, one’s penis can erect while the man is under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. While a man is intoxicated, his penis can still erect although his mindset is disorganized and his consent is not provided. Likewise with a man under the influence of drugs, his thoughts are muddled but he still has the capability to erect.
The foregoing paragraphs stated how the male reproductive organ erects, even under eccentric circumstances. Despite one’s unwillingness to erect, his penis has the possibility to erect, even without his permission. Erection is still possible without the right intention of the man.
Dr. David T. Bolong, a urologist in the Hospital of the Infant Jesus in
Should it not be considered rape when a woman exploits a man under the given right circumstances? Correspondingly regarding women in rape cases, men are also abused when women forces them to have sex without prior consent. Their masculinity, chastity and dignity are dishonored. Similarly with women when they are raped, their femininity, chastity and honor are violated.
With the actuality that men can have undesirable erections, it is true that they may be rape. For instance: (1) when a woman who has her sex urges and sneaked in a boy’s room to have sexual affair with him, while he is having a nocturnal emission or wet dreams, (2) when a group of women abducts a male then forces him to fantasize on girls on a magazine (3) when a woman slips a Viagra on a man’s meal, then puts him to sleep to perform the dirty deed, (4) when a woman sexually attacks a man who is intoxicated and his visions are blurred, (5) when a woman compels a guy to have an erection by pointing a gun at him, or (6) when a sexually aroused wife forces his tired husband who has just come home from work to have sex. These cases are only hypothetical and may vary on different occasions. But still, the perpetrators on the aforementioned situations are women while the victims are men.
C. Sexual Assault vs. Rape
Though there are news stories about men who were sexually abused by another man, commonly by homosexuals, there is not much news, or nearly zero information, about a man who was raped by a woman. Different ideas and opinions may rise on the issue of a man raped by a woman case: the man may be afraid to voice out, the man may be anxious about being humiliated for reporting the incident or the man may have eventually developed a mutual feeling with the girl. The reasons behind a woman shutting her lips about her misery due to a rape incident are most probably the same with a man who decided to keep his mouth mum about his.
In the Philippine legal context, rape is generally associated with sex; it is perceived that men cannot be raped. However, with the expansion of the definition of rape, men who were sexually abused may now charge their abusers with sexual assault. But paragraph two of Article 266 – A of the Revised Penal Code or sexual assault constitute a lighter penalty than of paragraph one or simple rape.
There is no provision in the article wherein a woman forces the entry of a man into her vagina which may be possible under certain circumstances. The lack of proviso in the law may serve as a loophole or hiatus that may be exploited by some people. Thereby, concrete action and further study should commence.
III. Conclusion
A. Brief Overview
Rape is a crime against persons which is committed when someone uses force or intimidation on another to have a sexual intercourse or to achieve sexual satisfaction. One’s pride, dignity and honor are tainted whenever he or she becomes the victim and subject of rape. May the injured party be a boy or a girl, the chaste of the oppressed is corrupted.
Deriving from the gathered information, men can have unwanted erections making them subjects to non-consented sexual intercourse. There is a great possibility that forced sex is done by some women to men.
Part of being human is to be sexual creatures. People fall in love, get attracted to other people and develop romantic relationship and even sexual desires. Hence, everybody has their sexual urges and women shouldn’t be underestimated. Doesn’t mean that majority of women shows little sexual urges doesn’t mean it applies to all.
Towards the supreme vision of a just and free society, gender parity shouldn’t be left behind. And this concept is a step forward to that fair and impartial community: a balance between genders.
B. Recommendation
It is evident that men can be subjects of the crime of rape. It is highly recommended that professionals from the legal and medical sectors should scrutinize the possibility of the crime of rape committed by women on men by forcing sexual intercourse.
Once the concept is fully strengthened by professionals, the legislation should pass a bill which will expand and amend how and when rape is committed. Article 266-A of the Revised Penal Code may be amended as follows:
Article 266-A. Rape: When and How Committed. - Rape is committed:
1) By a person who shall have carnal knowledge of someone of opposite gender under any of the following circumstances:
a) Through force, threat, or intimidation;
b) When the offended party is deprived of reason or otherwise unconscious;
c) By means of fraudulent machination or grave abuse of authority; and
d) When the offended party is under twelve (12) years of age or is demented, even though none of the circumstances mentioned above be present.
2) By any person who, under any of the circumstances mentioned in paragraph 1 hereof, shall commit an act of sexual assault by inserting his penis into another person's mouth or anal orifice, or any instrument or object, into the genital or anal orifice of another person, or by forcing one’s mouth on her genitalia.
[1] Sanchez, E., The Filipina and the Law, p. 123, (2008).
[2] Revised Penal Code, Article 335.
[3] Republic Act 2632, Section 1.
[4] Supra note 1, pp. 124 – 125.
[5] Republic Act 8353, Section 2.
[6] Republic Act 9346, Section 1.
[7] Supra note 4, Section 2.
[8] Engel – Arieli, S., How Your Body Works, p. 137, (1995).
[9] Li, J., Laughing Gas, Viagra and Lipitor, p. 113, (2006).
[10] Supra note 8, p. 112.
[11] Supra note 8, p. 111.
[12] Interview with Dr. David T. Bolong.
