GENDER STUDIES

The Christine Dacera case proves that a lot has to be done for the country to move past gender discrimination

- MARELLA RICKETTS

In the days after Christine Dacerna’s death, phone screens light up with updates from Facebook, Twitter and various messaging apps. Everyone seems to have their own theories on the topic, some all too eager to box in the victim as a party girl who should’ve saw it coming. She did it to herself, they comment anonymously from the comforts of their own homes, highlighting how misogyny and gender discrimination still tends to be the norm. The Philippines still has a long way to go.

Who: Christine Dacera, a 23-year-old flight attendant, and her 11 companions

What: Dacera’s death in the midst of a New Year’s Eve celebration

When: January 1, 2021

Where: A hotel room in Makati City

How: A ruptured aortic aneurysm

Why: For some people to even attempt to answer why—perhaps she partied too hard, pushed herself too hard; she did it to herself by choosing her company that night—seems unfair. Her death does not and will not offer an answer to this.

REEL VS REAL LIFE