With regard to the definition of rape, the Committee notes that the lack of consent is not an essential element of the definition of rape in the Philippines Revised Penal Code. It recalls its general recommendation No. 19 of 29 January 1992 on violence against women, where it made clear, in paragraph 24 (b), that “States parties should ensure that laws against family violence and abuse, rape, sexual assault and other gender-based violence give adequate protection to all women and respect their integrity and dignity”. Through its consideration of States parties’ reports, the Committee has clarified time and again that rape constitutes a violation of women’s right to personal security and bodily integrity, and that its essential element was lack of consent 137. 69. In evaluating the criminal classification of the crime in the Philippines, the CEDAW Committee observed that the domestic court, in discussing the occurrence or nonoccurrence of physical resistance on the part of the victim, had adopted discriminatory and stereotypical views on what a woman’s behavior should be when she experiences sexual violence, which led to the re-victimization of Ms. Vertido and demonstrated the inadequacy of this requirement: (…) stereotyping affects women’s right to a fair and just trial and that the judiciary must take caution not to create inflexible standards of what women or girls should be or what they should have done when confronted with a situation of rape based merely on preconceived notions of what defines a rape victim or a victim of gender-based violence, in general. (…) It is clear from the judgement that the assessment of the credibility of the author’s version of events was influenced by a number of stereotypes, the author in this situation not having followed what was expected from a rational and “ideal victim” or what the judge considered to be the rational and ideal response of a woman in a rape situation (…) Although there exists a legal precedent established by the Supreme Court of the Philippines that it is not necessary to establish that the accused had overcome the victim’s physical resistance in order to prove lack of consent, the Committee finds that to expect the author to have resisted in the situation at stake reinforces in a particular manner the myth that women must physically resist the sexual assault. In this regard, the Committee stresses that there should be no assumption in law or in practice that a woman gives her consent because she has not physically resisted the unwanted sexual conduct, regardless of whether the perpetrator threatened to use or used physical violence 138. 70. The CEDAW Committee, based on this evaluation, prescribed the reparation measure described in the Judgment: (…) recommended that the Philippines “revise [its] definition of rape in law to focus on lack of consent” and enact a definition that “requires the existence of an 'unambiguous and voluntary agreement' and requires evidence by the accused of measures taken to secure the consent of the complainant/survivor”, or that “required that the act take place under 'coercive circumstances, including a wide range of coercive circumstances'”. 139 71. Building on this and other precedents, UN Women - the UN agency responsible for developing programs, policies and standards for the protection of women's rights has specified in its "Handbook for legislation on violence against women” (2012), that: “Legislation should: (…) remove any requirement that sexual assault be committed by force or violence, and any requirement of proof of penetration, and 137 138 139 Cf. CEDAW. Vertido v. Phillipines, CEDAW/C/46/D/18/2008, 2010, para. 8.7. Ibid., para. 8.4-5. Cf. Judgment, para. 142; CEDAW. Vertido v. Phillipines, CEDAW/C/46/D/18/2008, 2010, para. 8.9.b.i. 23