68 Discourse and Rape Rape and Power What is worth discussing in this analysis is the notion that rape is an exercise of power (Conley and O’Barr 1998, 15) and how power is manifested through linguistic practice in the courtroom. Aside from using actual force to take sexual advantage of victims at the physical level, rape involves power in the courtroom in other ways that are less obvious but just as important since it includes broader abuses of power that society promotes (MacKinnon 1989, 176). For one, the victim is forced to relive the rape in her testimony. And most of the time, the victim is being blamed for the crime. During cross examinations, trivial inconsistencies suggest faulty memory. The victim may also be attacked of her post-rape behaviour that failed to conform to male notions of logical response to the crime. Worst of all, during the cross examination she is asked of her prior sexual experiences with people portraying her as a loose woman. In this analysis, the exercise of power in a trial proceeding of a rape case is revealed through the strategic use of phrasal selfrepetitions and reformulation embedded in questions by a cross examining defense lawyer. This kind of discourse strategy is often done by cross examining lawyers in order to advance their argument that the complainant was not a credible witness, and that she was fabricating her story of rape. According to WLB, Inc. (2005, 209), the Supreme Court even generalizes that baseless charges of rape have frequently been made by women actuated by sinister, ulterior or undisclosed motive. In this sense, rape and sexual violence against women are reproduced and legitimated by the judicial culture which justifies and excuses male violence. Furthermore, myths such as “rape is easily fabricated” are deeply engraved and widely supported by males and females in Philippine society; that is, more Filipinos believe that a large percentage of women who report rape are lying because they are angry, and they want to get back at the man they accuse. Women lie or exaggerate about rape incidents so they can extort money from a well-to-do man and when most lucky, marriage proposal may settle the case. These generalizations, however, have no empirical basis. In fact, there are rape cases which are unreported.