Applicability of Women’s Honor Doctrine or the Maria Clara Doctrine: The Supreme Court decided cases and the laws relating to the rights of women

Abstract

This study determined and analyzed the cases which established and applied the Women’s Honor Doctrine or the Maria Clara Doctrine. The Women’s Honor Doctrine or the Maria Clara Doctrine enunciated the role of women in society as a symbol of purity and innocence. However, the recently decided case cast doubt as to the use and applicability of the doctrine in the disposition of rape cases. The cases decided which invoked the Maria Clara Doctrine were revisited and analyzed, and highlighted the laws passed which empowered and protected the rights of women since the doctrine first entered the Philippine Jurisprudence. Qualitative content analysis was the method used in this study where the Supreme Court decided cases which invoked the doctrine were reviewed and analyzed to determine the applicability of the Women’s Honor Doctrine or the Maria Clara Doctrine. In this era, the conflicting views and perception of how women act and react in different circumstances were no longer confined to the stereotype of being a woman.