In the eyes of the rapist: Meanings and perceptions of rape, sex and women of convicted male Fililipino rapists

• Main Author: Baloloy, Jim Rey R.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2014
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/4722
• Institution: De La Salle University

Rape is one of the most prevalent crimes in the Philippines. Through the years, it has been viewed as a feminist issue as empirical data have used the in the perspective of the victims, focusing more on the victims of rape but not so much on the perpetrator. A significant pool of Western empirical research has been collected in terms of how rapists make sense of rape and how they perceive women, sex, and themselves but none so far on the perceptions of convicted male Filipino rapists. Thus, this study aimed to determine the perceptions towards rape, sex, and women of convicted male Filipino rapists. Four respondents, who were recently convicted of rape but not earlier than five years after conviction were tasked to write one story based on what they believe is an example of rape, and another story based on what they believe is an example of sex. A semi-structured interview was then used conducted wherein the respondents stories were used as vignettes. Using thematic analysis, the major themes found on the perceptions of convicted male Filipino rapists involved the use of drugs and alcohol, the belief that rape is planned and intentional, and the belief that women are raped because there are accessible. On the other hand, there is also evidence suggesting the presence of victim blame, masculinity, and objectification of women.