Vertido v. Philippines, CEDAW/C/46/D/18/2008

Vertido, the author of the communication, filed a rape case in a Philippine trial court against a former President of a chamber of commerce where she was then the Executive Director. After a trial of eight years, the court acquitted the defendant. Vertido submitted that she suffered discrimination within the definition of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. She alleged that she was revictimized by the State when the court relied on gender-based myths and stereotypes in acquitting the accused. For instance, the court concluded that a rape victim must try to escape at every opportunity, there must be physical resistance from the victim, that the victim must be timid or easily cowed, that there must be clear evidence of a direct threat (e.g., existence of a gun). The Committee found that there was failure in investigating, prosecuting and punishing the perpetrator, and in providing redress to Vertido, due in part to the stereotypes and gender-based myths relied upon in the judgment. Stereotyping negatively affects a woman's right to a fair trial and the judiciary must not create or perpetuate inflexible standards of what someone should or should not have done when confronted with a rape situation.