Thousands of women took to the streets of Manila on Friday in protest against President Rodrigo Duterte's alleged misogyny as an exhibition marking International Women's Day exhibited the clothes of Philippine rape victims.
Protesters marched on the Malacanang presidential palace chanting against Mr Duterte, who has repeatedly made jokes about rape and said last year that when he was a teenager he indecently "touched" the family maid.
Presidential aides have stressed that the comments were mere jokes, not policies, and should not be taken seriously.
But protest leader Joms Salvador of women's group Gabriela said that Mr Duterte's "misogynistic" statements were "unacceptable, be they jokes or not."
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International Women's Day around the world
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Women shout slogans and bang pans and pots during a demonstration at the start of International Women's Day in Puerta del Sol Square in Madrid, Spain. Getty Images -
Women stage a sit-in protest blocking Gran Via avenue to mark International Women's Day, in Barcelona. EPA -
Activists take part in an event to mark International Women's Day in Banda Aceh. AFP -
Customers buy flowers at a flower stall in Pyongyang. AFP -
People celebrate International Women's Day at a nursing home in Pyongyang, North Korea. Reuters -
Women rise kitchen utensils. Spain marks International Women's Day with a women's general strike and countless protests scheduled throughout the day across the country in defence of their rights. Getty Images -
Activists from Bangladeshi women's organizations hold placards which read: 'stop gender based violence at the work place' as they participate in a International Women's Day march in Dhaka. EPA -
Activists perform the"one billion rising dance during a protest to commemorate International Women's Day in Manila. AFP -
Activists from an indigenous group raise clenched fists during a protest near Malacanang palace to commemorate International Women's Day in Manila. AFP -
Cambodian protesters sit in front of police officers during a International Women's Day rally in Phnom Penh. EPA -
People hold up banners as thousands march to mark International Women's Day in Melbourne. AFP -
A woman shouts slogans as she participates in a feminist march, held to call a halt to the nation's femicide, in Nairobi, on International Women's Day. AFP -
An Indian woman holds a child as she begs for money on the side of a busy road in Bangalore, India. EPA -
A female soldier of the German Armed Forces pets a dog as she distributes flowers to women during the International Women's Day near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany. REUTERS -
A woman takes part in the "Beauty Run" to mark International Women's Day in the Belarusian capital Minsk. AFP -
Women take part in the "Beauty Run" to mark International Women's Day in the Belarusian capital Minsk. AFP -
A participant attends a rally, held to support women's rights and to protest against violence towards women, in Saint Petersburg, Russia. REUTERS -
Family members apply makeup on an Indian bride before a mass marriage ceremony for eight couples in New Delhi, India, Friday. Mass weddings in India are organized by social organizations primarily to help economically backward families who cannot afford the high ceremony costs as well as the customary dowry and expensive gifts that are still prevalent in many communities. AP Photo -
Women take part in a demonstration on the occasion of International Women's Day in Milan, northern Italy. International Women's Day, a focal point in the movement for women's rights, is celebrated on 08 March every year. EPA
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"Law enforcers construe them as policy pronouncements and they embolden criminals," she added.
One woman or child is now raped in the Philippines per hour, a 153 percent increase from the decade before Mr Duterte was elected president, according to Salvador.
A small group of policemen monitored the protesters at the palace, numbering around 4,000 according to journalists on the scene, before the group marched to a public square in another section of Manila in the afternoon.
Elsewhere in the city a shopping mall exhibition displayed clothes worn by women and girls when they suffered "gender-based violence" including rape at home, in school, at work or elsewhere.
The sponsors said the show, backed by the United Nations Population Fund local office and which has run since last month, challenges "the idea that women's appearance and behaviour are to blame when they are assaulted".
"The Gateway (shopping mall) exhibit 'don't tell me how to dress' is heart-rending. Seeing it personally make(s) me feel uncomfortable," Twitter user @HAUTEANGELUS posted.
"Terrible, I cried while reading all their stories," @anabemish tweeted with a picture of herself at the exhibit.
"It's a good exhibit. It raises awareness about rape. Women of all ages and backgrounds can become victims and it is infuriating that some people trivialise it," said Salvador, the protest leader.
