Sexist, hate speech vs EJK victims’ female relatives spike after Duterte’s arrest — group

MANILA, Philippines — Following the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte, human rights groups have reported a rise in sexist and hate speech targeting female relatives of drug war victims and their legal advocates.

Human rights group Karapatan expressed alarm over the attacks and threats against these women, which it claimed were carried out by a "mercenary troll army."

"This form of harassment against the women relatives of victims is one of the most stark examples of the engendered impunity during the Duterte administration that continues under the current Marcos government," Karapatan’s statement read.

“When women speak up and call for justice for their loved ones, they are threatened with violence, discouraged with lies, and demeaned as women. Many others have yet to report cases of extrajudicial killings and other human rights violations because of this tactic of victim bashing,” it added. 

Karapatan described the attacks as a "psychological war operation" that was well-funded, systematic and politically motivated.

“These types of operations, which includes red- and terror-tagging, have long been resorted to by the powerful, including the Duterte and Marcos Jr. regimes, to cover up the ugly truth about their crimes and escape accountability,” the group’s statement read.

After Duterte’s March 11 arrest, his supporters labeled his apprehension as "kidnapping." Some even flooded the LinkedIn account of International Criminal Court (ICC) Judge Iulia Motoc, demanding Duterte’s release.

Effects. The online harassment by Duterte supporters could potentially affect the ICC’s decision on his interim release, according to international law expert Joel Butuyan.

The law expert said the ICC may not grant interim release to the former president due to "powerful forces" that could manipulate or harass victims and judges.

“It’s going to affect the judges, especially on the issue of interim release. Because the judges will see that the forces of the Duterte camp are really very powerful, and that just because of the ICC, they can be bullied, and harassed, and attempts can be made to manipulate them,” Butuyan said in a mix of English and Filipino in a forum on March 18. 

The ICC formally presented charges to Duterte during his first court appearance on March 14 (Philippine time), saying he faces accusations of crimes against humanity for at least 43 killings. These include incidents linked to the Davao Death Squad and police actions during his presidency.

The charges cover cases between Nov. 1, 2011, and March 16, 2019.