Recasting Ethics of Face and Hiya (Shame) in the light of Cybersexual Violence Against Women

This paper explores how Philippine/East Asian discourses on ethics of face and shame can be relevant in light of cyber-sexual violence against women. It argues that lowland Philippine concept of hiya (shame) in its moral and internal sense, should be retrieved as virtue in the context of cyber-sexual violence against women. This can however be complemented by Emmanuel Levinas’ concept of the face of the Other and its reception especially in the cyber-context. Hiya (shame) as sensitivity to a loss of face of the excluded kapwa (other), leads to actions that not only helps to “gain face” but also reveal the God who enfaces.