In a bid to protect minors from rape and sexual abuse, Philippine President, Rodrigo Duterte has signed into law a bill that raises the minimum age of sexual consent from 12 to 16. This development was contained in a statement by his office.
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Philippines until now has had one of the world’s lowest minimum ages of sexual consent, behind Nigeria’s age of 11.
It could be recalled that a joint 2015 study by UNICEF and the Center for Women’s Resources, a local nongovernmental group, showed seven of 10 rape victims in the Philippines were children.
The study said one in five respondents ages 13 to 17 reported experiencing sexual violence, while one in 25 experienced forced consummated sex during childhood.
But under the bill endorsed by Duterte, which is gender neutral, any adult engaging in sexual contact with anyone 16 or under would be committing statutory rape, unless the age difference between them was three years or less and sex was proven to be consensual, and neither abusive nor exploitative.
The exemption does not apply if one of those involved was under 13.
Reacting to the development, Josalee Deinla, spokesperson for the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, which provides legal help to poor and marginalized people in the Philippines, said “We welcome this legal development and hope that it will help protect young girls from rape and sexual abuse”.
Also reacting in a statement, one of the bill’s main sponsors, Lawrence Fortun described it as “a major step forward.”
He added that “I am elated that our collective efforts at pushing for stronger protection against rape and other forms of sexual abuse are advancing”.
