Philippines: More than 3,300 Filipino women have been sexually assaulted by a local brothel since 2014, and the country’s government has tried to curb the problem by calling for a “no longer a space for women” to go there, according to a new report.
The report, which comes just two months after the Philippines was rocked by the deadly rape and murder of a student, paints a bleak picture of sexual exploitation in the impoverished nation where many live in poverty and where rape is often used as a weapon of violence.
More than half of the victims were women between the ages of 18 and 50, the report said.
More: The Philippines has a rape rate of at least 70 per 100,000 people.
The country’s rape rate in the U.S. is about 11 per 100 million.
More women are victims than men.
In 2015, there were 7,926 reported rapes in the Philippines, according the report.
A staggering 44 percent of women said they were raped in a sexual assault.
More people were raped than killed.
According to the report, nearly 60 percent of all rapes are committed by women.
The Philippines has been struggling with its own sexual violence epidemic, with the country recording more than 20,000 rapes in 2017, and more than 9,000 since 2013, according a 2016 report by Human Rights Watch.
The government has responded by creating special programs to tackle the problem, including setting up the National Commission for Protecting and Ending Sexual Violence and establishing the Victims of Sexual Violence Committee, according its website.
“This is a new beginning.
This is the start of a new day,” said Roxanne Mabuyo, director of the National Bureau of Investigation.
Mabuyowo told the Associated Press that the committee will review cases of sexual violence and recommend action to the president.
But she said the panel will also review the existing laws and procedures for dealing with sexual violence, including the provision of emergency medical care to rape victims.
The Philippine government said it plans to provide additional resources to help victims and survivors.