Advocacy groups for the protection of women and children have called on a production studio to take down from YouTube a short film showing a child fabricating a rape charge, saying such a depiction could have dire repercussions on the cases of real-life victims.
In a statement, petitioners who included a senator, a justice department official, and representatives from the legal community, the academe and the United Nations program for children, called on VinCentiments to be more responsible in dealing with sensitive matters involving minors.
鈥淭he video blatantly perpetuates the myth that rape is easily fabricated,鈥� they said, referring to the 2-minute film titled 鈥淰irgin Marie,鈥� which was uploaded on August 15 on the studio鈥檚 YouTube channel.
鈥淎n accusation of rape is not easy to make. It takes tremendous courage for victims to collect their wounded dignity and report the incident to authorities,鈥� they stressed.
The film showed the titular character Marie rehearsing her court testimony on how she was supposedly raped by her own father.
In a later scene, however, the girl got a scolding from an adult woman for not strictly following the script they had agreed upon to win a conviction.
The final scene closed with the text: 鈥淣agsisinungaling ang bata.鈥� (Children tell lies.)
The petitioners included Senator Risa Hontiveros, Assistant Justice Secretary Cheryl Daytec-Ya帽got, and representatives of Unicef Philippines, Women鈥檚 Legal and Human Rights Bureau, Ateneo Human Rights Center, and Save the Children Philippines.
In their view, the film 鈥渄isregards the vast of majority of victims of sexual abuse who tell the truth and face a great ordeal in seeking justice.鈥�
鈥淚t also cripples the efforts of groups encouraging women and girls to report the crime and to be actively involved in prosecuting cases of sexual violence,鈥� they said.
They warned it could embolden perpetrators to find ways of undermining the credibility of their victims鈥� statements.
Netizens have since joined the film鈥檚 detractors in calling out the studio over the issue.
But in a statement posted by the producers on Facebook on the day the video was uploaded, the film鈥檚 writer and director, Darryl Yap, said they expected to draw severe criticism from government agencies and 鈥渟ome conservatives,鈥� but he maintained that his work was based on reality and a 鈥渞eflection of society.鈥�