Raising Age of Consent from 12 to 16 in the Philippines

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Avatar for marg05.-
2 years ago

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte finally signs into law the bill raising the age of sexual consent from 12 years old to 16 years old. It has been long voiced by the United Nations as our age of consent is alarmingly low.

What is Age of Consent?

Age of consent is the legal term for which a person need to reach to be able to give consent for sex. If any adult engages in any type of sexual activity with someone below the age of consent in that particular state of country, they are committing a crime even if the minor or anyone not reaching the age of consent yet agreed to have sex.

Republic Act No, 116481, which amends the Anti-Rape Act of 1997, states that it will be considered statutory rape if an adult has sexual intercourse with a person under 16 years old. This is 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 of one those involved was under 13 years old. This law is gender neutral which means this can be applied to both men and women but punishment varies. This is because statutory rape in the Philippines is considered a heinous crime punishable by life imprisonment when committed against women. Meanwhile rape of males is legally recognized as rape by sexual assault, which is penalized by imprisonment of six to twelve years.

What are your thoughts on these?

Age of Consent in Other Countries

Before this bill is signed into law, Philippines has the lowest age of consent in Asia. Let’s see the different age of consent in other counties as well to give you some idea. I will show you the top highest and lowest age of consent below:

Highest

  • 21 years old - Bahrain

  • 20 years old- South Korea

Lowest

  • 11 years old- Nigeria

  • 12 years old- Angola

  • 13 years old- Japan, Burkina Faso, Comoros, Niger

Meanwhile, majority of the world has the age of consent ranging from sixteen to 18 years old. What are your thoughts on the importance of age of consent?

Photo from unsplash.com

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) celebrated the passage of the law that also equalized the protection for victims regardless of gender.

"The passage of this legislation is an essential step towards fulfilling children’s rights to protection from sexual violence, abuse and exploitation, regardless of their sex, orientation and gender identity and expression," it said in a statement. "Sexual violence results in severe physical, psychological and social harm for children."

References: https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2022/3/7/Age-of-sexual-consent-Philippines-law.html?fbclid=IwAR3zu6k8T-3LJkhPJ_JA2H3795fM2yztAHXs9WeBRSQNL9QyKFqsuN-dUJM

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Avatar for marg05.-
2 years ago

Comments

I love how this article is being written, this very concise and informative. To add on, rape victims don't really heal from the trauma they deal with it every single day. That is why rape case has a very serious sentence. The damage is soul level.

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2 years ago

Thank you very much for the appreciation, it means a lot seriously because I'm not yet confident with ny writings. Totally agree with what you've said with the trauma caused by rape, and it's really sad especially among young girls whose life will totally change with the traumas they will bear for the rest of their life. :(

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2 years ago

I believe that the signing of that law is a great move from the government. Just so you know, glad you have shared this info, I have learned something my friend.

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2 years ago

You're very welcom my dear. I'm so happy you appreciate this. I also really want to share current issues that I think is very relevant to us. Have a great weekend!

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2 years ago

hold on, but seriously was the age of consent 12 before now? gosh, I can only imagine the number of children that have suffered in the hands of perverts. A good step the president is taken but I hope the age of consent goes higher as 18.

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2 years ago

Apparently yes we have the lowest age of consent in asia back then which is 12. It was indeed a good step that it's now raised to 16. Thanks for reading my article!

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2 years ago

Really a good move and a great shift to social stereotyping. The definition of being a child before is different now because of different factors that change one perception of what is a child and a legal age.

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2 years ago

I think the age of consent 16 is quite good. Because 11 or 12 years is too much children type age I think.

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2 years ago

It's great that the age of consent has been lifted to 16 years old because 16 years old below are still minors and needs protection and guidance from adults. In this age bracket, most teenagers can't distinguish what's right or wrong.

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2 years ago

I agrree here, and seeing the age of consent who have capped it to lowest is really upsetting because in this way those who ends up in sexual intercourse may get pregnant and at the age of 11, 12, 13 or so who is going to take care of that child. and even the risk to the health of the girl bearing teenage pregnancy can be fatal in some cases.

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2 years ago

Yes, I can't even imagine someone at that age bearing a child. It's actually a good move by Pres. Duterte, for if something happens like that to a child, it can now be punished by law.

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2 years ago

Couldn't agree more. I hope this law would somehow help with the alarming increase of teenage pregnancy cases here in our country.

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2 years ago

I hope so too author, knowing that teenage pregnancy is rampant these days.

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2 years ago

Definitely, and this is really a good step for the abusive adults among these minors to be held reliable on their disgusting actions. Thanks you, have a nice day!

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2 years ago

I am wondering if both parties agreed to have sexual interspersed though they are not on right age, does it mean that they will be punished by the law once caught or only those people that have secure intercourse with boys or girls ranging from 12 to 16 years old? I'm glad that this law had been passed, so that those people doing malicious actions should be punished with life imprisonment.

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2 years ago

Yes both can be held for statutory rape charges. They will be part of Children's in Conflict with Law (CICL) who will be in government's custody and will be sent to rehab centers as they didn't reach the age of criminal liability yet. Indeed this law is such a milestone for protection against children who suffers the most when it comes to sexual abuse. Thanks for reading, have a wonderful day!

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2 years ago