Swedish envoy: Duterte’s rape jokes not funny

MANILA, Philippines — With Sweden actively pursuing a feminist foreign policy, its ambassador in the Philippines does not find President Duterte’s remarks on women and jokes about the sensitive issue of rape funny.

“I don’t think those jokes are funny. That’s all I can say,” Swedish Ambassador Harald Fries told the Media FIKA forum yesterday.

“Those jokes are obviously not helping,” he said.

Fries was the guest of the forum discussing the “#RespetoNaman: A Nationwide Campaign Against Gender-Based Violence” in the Philippines.

FIKA is a Swedish social institution which involves coffee, pastries, a dedicated time to talk and trade stories – a weekly tradition for the Swedish embassies and offices all over the world. 

Fries stressed Sweden is the first feminist government in the world, placing great importance on ensuring that the fundamental human rights of women and girls are protected and promoted.

Among Sweden’s priorities under the Swedish Feminist Foreign Policy is the elimination of gender-based violence all over the world, he said.

The ambassador was joined at the forum by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) spokesman Barry Gutierrez, Bb. Pilipinas Supranational 2019 Resham Saeed as campaign ambassador and representatives of Spark Philippines and EMPOWER.

Fries has supported the #RespetoNaman campaign since it started last year.

He reiterated the steadfast support of Sweden for the campaign and noted that “the message of #RespetoNaman needs to reverberate not just in Metro Manila, but also to the farthest towns in the Philippines.”

The forum tackled the issue of legal protection for women.

“Are the laws effectively enforced to protect women and girls from exploitation, violence, harassment and rape? Are social norms enabling a culture of abuse of women?” Fries asked.

In 2014, Sweden became the first country in the world to publicly adopt what it explicitly called “a feminist foreign policy,” putting the promotion of gender equality and women’s rights at the center of its diplomatic agenda. 

In 2018, the embassy of Sweden, in partnership with the Office of Vice President Leni Robredo, UN Women, Spark Philippines and EMPOWER, launched #RespetoNaman: A Nationwide Campaign Against Gender-Based Violence. Inspired by the global #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, the campaign focuses on bringing the issue into the mainstream in the Philippines and empowering women to rise up against all forms of gender-based violence. 

Since its launch in November 2018, the campaign has been all over Metro Manila, in the Senate, at Quezon City Hall, malls and schools. 

After its successful run in Metro Manila, the campaign is gearing up for its nationwide campaign with stops in Cebu, Bacolod, Iloilo and Naga.

#RespetoNaman focuses on bringing the issue of rape and sexual harassment into the mainstream in the Philippines and empowering women to speak up.

SPARK Philippines said the campaign hopes to enlighten the Filipino people.

“#RespectoNaman campaigns for better awareness, change in policy, better practices and rehabilitation for victims to eliminate gender-based violence in the Philippine society,” SPARK Philippines said.