EDITORIAL — Be careful, always

After the battered body of a young woman was found in Cebu City, another teenager has fallen victim to violence. This time it happened in Toledo City after the body of 17-year-old Sharmaine Flores, a senior high school student, was found in a grassy lot in Barangay Bunga, Toledo City.

It was believed the victim had been sexually abused before she was strangled to death. Police have arrested a suspect identified as Jonathan “Atan” Sugabo, who has claimed he had nothing to do at all with the killing.

What a waste of a young life that still had so much to look forward to.

It is not our intent to shame the victim here; we would never stoop that low. However, we cannot help but see what happened to the victim as a cautionary tale that we hope others can learn from.

These are unsafe times. Drugs that can warp men’s minds are readily available, so are weapons that can be used to rob and intimidate, as well as vehicles that can take someone from Point A to Point B quickly. We don’t even have to mention how expensive almost everything is today.

In short, it is easier for some people to be driven to commit crimes these days to whatever gain.

The danger isn’t just for teenage senior high-school girls, this goes for people of all walks of life, young and old, rich or poor. All of us are possible victims of crime.

And contrary to what some reporters are suggesting, it’s not what the women wear or how they act that invites rape. Nothing invites rape. The decision to rape is solely the decision of the perpetrator who saw opportunity.

Would the victim have escaped such a fate if she had dressed more modestly, or acted more prudently? We challenge that line of thought. But would she still be alive had she been more careful and aware of her surroundings? Including who posed a danger to her and how? We venture to guess this is a huge possibility.

Again, no victim-shaming here. Just a call for people to be more aware of the times we’re in and the hazards that come with it. We pray that Sharmaine gets the justice she deserves.