Rape: cruel, condemnable, stigmatizing

Rape is fittingly a condemnable crime. It is cruel enough that the victim is unwillingly violated sexually, but worse, she has to live with the harrowing thought of being smeared with an indelible mark that somehow casts her apart from her fellowmen. This is particularly true in a society like ours, for it has been said that our culture puts a premium in purity and virginity as virtues, and a non-virgin, even if deflowered against her will, is oftentimes treated, albeit secretly, with unkind scowl and scorn. This explains why rape stigmatizes the victim worse than the perpetrator. (People v. Galimba; G.R. Nos. 111563-64; February 20, 1996)