Walang Rape sa Bontok is a documentary about the society in Bontoc

that is reported to be rapeless. It features two women who were victims of

sexual abuse. They are on a search for a society that respects women and
where women are not abused. They come across a study by an
anthropologist where he mentions that Bontok is a society that does not
even have a term for rape implying that there is no concept of rape
whatsoever in Bontoc. They set out to see it for themselves. When they
arrived, they discovered that the formerly rapeless society has already been
tainted by rape culture. Still they decided to continue to investigate as to
why Bontoc took so long to have rape culture introduced to it. They
interviewed the locals and were able to come up with 6 different reasons as
to why this is the case.
The first reason is their traditional belief system. They have a strong
fear of the divine. They believe in divine intervention. If someone does
something wrong, then a divine being would then punish that person for their
wrongdoing. This has been the belief system for a long while since Bontoc is
one of the few areas that have not been colonized. They have retained their
traditional culture and have not been influenced by external factors.
Recently, modern culture has been slowly introduced to the area and
bringing with it, rape culture.
The second reason is the physical structures that are in place in the
area. There are separate areas for men and women. The houses are also
very open and not conducive to illicit activities. Courting was a public activity
compared to the privacy modern culture associates with courting. Their
sleeping areas were also communal making it hard for a woman to be raped
without anyone knowing.
Third are the tribal wars but it is more apt to call these wars inter-
village wars. Only men engage in these wars due to the high respect they
have for women. They recognize that only women are capable of giving birth
and nurturing the child thus they have to be protected at all costs. This is
contrary to the practice in modern culture where militarization brings rape to
the area.
The fourth is the gender ideology they have regarding women. As
mentioned in the third aspect, they have a high respect for women, so much
so that women are sure to be safe during these inter-village conflicts. They
see men and women as equals in terms of decision making. If a man courts a
woman and she decides to reject the woman, the woman is not shamed for
doing so as it is her choice. This is unlike modern culture where, when a
woman rejects a man, she is made to feel bad about it because what if no
one else comes along? It is also part of their culture that a true man
respects a woman. He does not assert his power over her. He does not
disrespect her in any way that would make her feel bad about herself.
The fifth is how they view sex. They do not see sex as a malicious thing
but as a means to procreate. They do not shame nudity. Their belief is that
when humans were created, they were created naked so why cover it up?
Their culture does not put so much importance on sex. Usually, the
marriages are arranged and so it might be a contributing factor to rape but it
was discovered that in their community, it is easy to learn to love.
Lastly, the sixth is that they live a communal life. Each person has their
own role in the community. They all strive to make community life better.
With each person busy in their role in the community, they end up with no
extra time to think about other things. Theres no upper class that do nothing
but boss people around and earn money. Theres no lower class that slave
away for their masters just to be underpaid. They all contribute to the
welfare of the society equally and at the same time they benefit from their
hard work equally.
The documentary shows the society that could have been. Everyone
gets by in their life, as they would like, with no unnecessary luxuries that
only propagate a class divide. It is an egalitarian society where women are
respected in the same way as men are. Though there are still the
overarching gender roles, respect is what matters the most. Since this is the
culture, there is no room for men to abuse a woman just for the sheer show
of dominance over her.
Its disheartening though to hear that rape culture has started to creep
in the area as modernization is introduced. Mass media and pop culture has
contributed to how they view their society. As their elders have put it Idi,
awan! Tatta, addan (Before there was none but now there is rape).