Where’s Justice?

On the news, there were people who talks about the actions that should be made on rape victims. One of which is to marry the accused. Where’s justice in that?

Mostly rape victims are at the age where they felt helpless and vulnerable and the age group is much lower than that of the one commiting the crime. Doing something against your will especially if brutal force is involved can traumatize a person or can lead to its death upon refusal.

It is the whole process of the act and what comes next is the truama of being a rape victim. It is a serious problem and can lead to depression, suicide and other mental health diseases. Where’s justice in that?

If law makers think that a victim being married to the rapist will have the happily ever after moment, maybe we must subject those law makers first to psychological test to prove their sanity and being fit for their job because other lives depends on what they are making. 

These rape victims deserve justice. A freedom to choose whom they marry and to see their perpetruators behind bars. Freedom to accept or reject any aftermath effects of the act and be supported by the society they lived in without judgement. 
Where’s Justice? Who knows where but one thing is certain, we need it now.

Responsible Journalism

I’ve recently read a newspaper and there is one article that caught my attention. The article is mainly about the comments on President Dueterte war on drugs and  what a hell to pay after the end of the president’s term. 

I respect the opinion of the writer in that matter but I believe that he should never speak ill of persons who were victims of circumstances. It is not on the amount of rape victims and even drug addicts there are, the fact that these things are happening creating these victims who are humans too and  should get the respect they deserve.

This is where the problem lies. The public has judging eyes on people without knowing the facts. It is the reason why cases of rape and addiction are underreported. In some situations, these victims refuse to seek any medical, psychiatric and social help thay can get because of the fear of being judged by others. These things happen often than what the public think and what the media publishes. 

I can’t blame the author for not knowing these because I believe that media also plays a big part on his perception about things. We all lived in an accessible information era where media of various forms are the most influential tools. Little of the published articles are about educating the public and the bulk came from negative criticism and unfactual ones. 

It is a challeged to the journalists, publishers and media practitioners to give quality articles that aim to educate people and not persecute then, to deliver factual and unbiased reports involving the parties involved and not just one, to investigate thoroughly about the information gathered and not to hastlily put it into main stream media and lastly to be accountable and fair to the actions they’ve made. 

As a citizen of the Philippines, I wanted to be informed, educate and empowered as I read all the news regarding my country. This doesn’t mean that only the good things should be published or only the bad but a combination of both to let us, the people, decide on where to stand regarding the issue.

We should all promote responsible and unbiased journalism.