President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law the bill raising the age of sexual consent in the Philippines to 16 from the previous 12, March 7.
Previously, the minimum age of sexual consent in the Philippines was 12 years old. Sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 12 is defined as rape under Chapter 3, Article 266 of the Anti-Rape Law of 1997.
Under the new law, any adult who would engage in sexual activity with a child below 16 years old would be guilty of rape. This is regardless of whether the minor gave his or her consent.
The law on age of sexual consent states that consensual, non-abusive, and non-exploitative sexual activity with a minor below 16 years old would not be considered statutory rape in the following conditions are met:
- The parties are 14 years old or above, and the age difference does not exceed 4 years
- Where the sexual activity involves a minor below 14, the age difference does not exceed 3 years
Philippines raises age of sexual consent to 16
Meanwhile, someone could still claim statutory rape if he or she is above 16 years old and has physical, mental, or psychological disability or condition that renders him or her inability to understand consent or the consequences of any sexual activity fully.
Last year, one of the bill’s main authors, Tingog party-list Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez, said that establishing a minimum age of sexual consent is the most important and critical criteria in protecting minors from sexual violence.
“This means any sexual intercourse with a minor who has not reached the age of twelve is automatically regarded as rape, regardless of whether they say or appeared to have voluntarily engaged in the sexual act. However, the moment that child reaches the exact age of twelve, the law assumes that the child is mature enough to give consent to another person for any sexual activity,” Romualdez said.
According to official data, child rape and sexual abuse are rampant in the Philippines.
A woman or child is raped nearly every hour, Senator Risa Hontiveros said in a document to the Senate, citing figures from the Center for Women’s Resources.
Seven out of 10 victims are children, and the vast majority are girls, she said.
Visit our Facebook page for more news updates.