With such staggering statistics, the bill will at least provide minors with a layer of legal protection against sexual abuse. Representatives Eric Yap (Benguet) and Paolo Duterte (Davao City) have introduced a bill to raise the legal age from 18 to 21. Children`s rights activists have been calling for this change for years. The minimum legal age has been enshrined in the country`s penal code since 1930. But too much resistance to change was not provoked sooner. “We welcome this legal development and hope it will help protect young girls from rape and sexual abuse,” said Josalee Deinla, spokesperson for the National Union of People`s Advocates, which provides legal aid to poor and marginalized people in the Philippines. While raising the age of consent brings many cases of sexual abuse into the realm of crime, a UNICEF guidance note also argues that 12 is “too low” for consent because the child “barely got through puberty.” “The part of a child`s brain that processes their understanding of the consequences of their decisions has not evolved at age 12 and continues to evolve at age 18. Therefore, setting the age of sexual consent at 12 contradicts scientific findings on brain development, as well as physical and emotional maturity,” the document reads. Scientific evidence has shown that raising the legal drinking age significantly reduces alcohol-related injuries and deaths.
The legal minimum age of 21 has led to a reduction in alcohol consumption rates, even after the youth has reached the age of 21. Therefore, raising the legal minimum age to 21 can protect children and adolescents in the Philippines from alcohol-related harm, now and in the long term. This is in line with the “Romeo and Juliet laws” that have been enforced in several countries to avoid consensual sex between teenagers. For example, in the state of Ohio in the United States, despite the age of consent of 16, consensual sexual relations between people 13 years of age and older with a partner under 18 years of age are considered legal. Even in France, where the age of consent is 15, consensual sexual relations between a minor and a partner for up to five years longer are allowed. The Philippines on Monday raised the age of sexual consent from 12 to 16 as President Rodrigo Roa Duterte signed the amendment to the Special Protection of Children from Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act. In a statement on Monday, UNICEF welcomed the “legislative step” as “an important step towards realizing children`s rights to protection from sexual violence, abuse and exploitation.” The Philippines allows adults to legally have sex with children as young as 12. The legal drinking age in the Philippines is 18, but children can easily buy alcoholic beverages in stores. The Philippines will raise the age of sexual consent from 12 to 16. Once the bill passes, the legal age of sexual consent would rise in the Catholic-majority country.
A bill has been proposed in the Philippine Legislature to raise the legal drinking age from 18 to 21. Scientific evidence shows that a legal age of 21 leads to less alcohol consumption and harm, such as alcohol-related injuries and deaths. Change is long overdue. We call on the Philippine government to prioritize the immediate passage of a law that raises the legal age of sexual consent from under 12 to under 16. #EndChildRape now. Learn more about this topic and the proposed legislative changes: www.unicef.org/…/un-philippines-statement. In countries that have a legal age of consent, which is the majority of them, the most common age of consent in the world is between 14 and 16 years. Currently, Nigeria has the lowest age of consent, at only 11 years. Then came Angola and before that the Philippines at the age of 12.
If you`re looking for a little comparison, the highest age of consent in the world is 21 in Bahrain. As WHO data show, a significant proportion of 15- to 19-year-olds who have started drinking alcohol in the Philippines are already doing so in a dangerous way, putting their health at risk. This shows that the country must raise the legal minimum age to 21. Some countries do not have a fixed age of consent, such as Afghanistan, Libya and Kuwait. In countries like these, premarital sex of any kind is not allowed. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte recently signed a law raising the minimum age of consent to 16. This approach aims to protect minors from sexual abuse and rape, a widespread problem in the country. Persons with Disabilities (PWD) President Arpee Lazaro has spoken out against including people with disabilities in the list of “unqualified people.” It agrees that if reducing alcohol consumption is a positive measure, people with disabilities should have the freedom to choose for themselves like other non-disabled people. “The state will make efforts to eliminate alcohol abuse and reduce underage drinking by banning unqualified people from accessing alcohol,” he added. In a statement calling on the Senate to pass the Stop Child Rape Act in 2021, UNICEF noted that the legislation had not changed over the past 90 years. The law exempts persons who have carnal relations with minors under the age of 16 from criminal liability as long as “the age difference between the parties does not exceed three years”. According to this provision, sexual activity must be consensual, non-abusive and non-abusive.
Philippines to raise age of sexual consent from 12 to 16 Republic Act (RA) No. 11648, signed by Duterte on March 7, raised the age for determining legal rape to 16. A BIL that wants to ban young people under 21 from consuming alcoholic beverages has been submitted to the House of Representatives. However, the law states that the exemption does not apply if the victim is under 13 years of age. Share this post #SONA2021 and identify our senators. Minors who violate the bill must attend, with their guardian, two direct counselling sessions organized by the local village council. The social welfare office will take care of them if they do not. Mobile school on railway tracks helps disadvantaged Filipino children get an education 🗞️ Subscribe Now: Get Express Premium to Access the Best Election Reports and Analysis 🗞️ A 2015 joint study by UNICEF and the Center for Women`s Resources, a local nongovernmental group, showed that seven out of 10 rape victims in the Philippines were children. With these changes, Philippine laws against sexual assault will better reflect international standards, where 16 is generally accepted as the age at which a person can consent to sexual relations. According to the bill, if a person in the category of “unqualified persons” violates the law, the Philippines is obliged to enact laws to protect children, since it ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990.
Article 1 of the Convention defines a “child” as a person under the age of 18. The Philippine Senate voted 22 votes in favor, 0 against and 1 abstention in favor of the bill. If the bill is signed, Senate Bill No. 2332, colloquially known as the End Child Rape Bill, will amend Republic Act No. 8353 of 1997, also known as the Anti-Rape Act of 1997, to raise the age of sexual consent. The bill would also change the legal age of rape in the country from 12 to 16. “Children, men or women, who engage in sexual intercourse or lustful behavior for money, profit or other considerations, or because of the coercion or influence of an adult, trade union or group, are considered children exploited in prostitution or other sexual abuse,” the law states. Read also: US NSA visit to Vietnam, Philippines represents `Cold War mentality`: Chinese embassies “This is a victory for Filipino children,” said Patrizia Benvenuti, UNICEF Director of Child Protection in the Philippines. Currently, the legislation is approaching a final vote and many believe that maintaining 12 as the age of consent for children is incompatible with studies on brain development.