PH age for sexual consent raised to 16 years old

According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Philippines had one of the world’s lowest ages of sexual consent, behind Nigeria’s age of 11. But on March 4, President Rodrigo Duterte has signed into law a measure raising the age of sexual consent from 12 to 16.

Republic Act (RA) No. 116481, entails that any adult who commits sexual activity with a minor below 16 years old is automatically guilty of rape. It exempts people having carnal knowledge with minors aged under 16 from criminal liability as long as “the age difference between the parties is not more than three years”, and the sexual activity must be consensual, non-abusive, and non-exploitative.

However, the provision states that the exemption does not apply if the victim is below 13 years old. The new rule amended Republic Act No. 7610 or the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act raises the age for determining the commission of statutory rape to provide stronger protection for children against sexual abuse and exploitation.

While Duterte signed the measure last Friday, a copy of the law was made available to the media on Monday, March 7. View the copy below:

UNICEF and the Center for Women’s Resources had a joint 2015 study, which showed seven of 10 rape victims in the Philippines were kids. One in five respondents aged 13 to 17 reported encountering sexual violence, while one in 25 experienced forced consummated sex during childhood.

Meanwhile, Josalee Deinla, spokesperson of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, provides legal help to poor and marginalized people in the Philippines. She said, ‘We welcome this legal development and hope that it will help protect young girls from rape and sexual abuse.’

One of the bill’s main sponsors, Lawrence Fortun, considers the new law as “a major step forward”. He said in a statement, ‘I am elated that our collective efforts at pushing for stronger protection against rape and other forms of sexual abuse are advancing.’

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Source: we the pvblic