“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. Under the revised law, signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday and released on Monday, sexual relations with anyone under the age of 16 are illegal and carry a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison. 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. 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. Children`s rights activists have been pushing for decades to raise the age of consent, but stubborn social norms in this deeply religious country, where abortion and divorce are illegal, have thwarted their efforts. As there is no age-related exemption in the Philippines, it is possible for two people under the age of 12 who voluntarily engage in sexual intercourse to both be prosecuted for legal rape, although this is rare. Similarly, no protection is reserved for sexual relations where one participant is 11 years old and the second 12 or 13 years old.

Malacañang on Monday, March 7, issued Republic Law (RA) No. 116481, a law that “provides better protection against rape and sexual exploitation and abuse and raises the age to determine the commission of lawful rape.” Under the new law, rape is committed by a person who would have carnal intercourse with another person “if the offended party is under 16 years of age or has dementia, although none of the above circumstances exist.” Last year, Duterte made preventing teenage pregnancy a “national priority,” citing the increased risk of health problems for young mothers and their babies, as well as loss of income. For years, activists had called on the government to raise the age of consent in the Catholic-dominated Philippines. On Monday, he had one of the lowest ages of consent in the world, with about one in five children experiencing sexual abuse. “High-quality telescopes in every district of Rajasthan to promote astro-tourism” Before the law was passed, the minimum age for sexual consent in the Philippines was 12, the lowest in Southeast Asia and one of the lowest in the world. The exemption does not apply if one of the parties was under 13 years of age. According to the World Population Review, the age of consent in Japan is 13, while countries such as China, Germany, Italy and Brazil are 14. In the United States, the age of consent is determined individually by states and ranges from 16 to 18. The UK also has 16 as the age of consent. The Philippines has raised the age of sexual consent to 16 after amending a nearly century-old law, a move that child rights activists say would help protect teens from rape and abuse on Monday. It defines “non-abusive” as “the absence of undue influence, intimidation, fraudulent activities, coercion, threats, injury or physical, sexual, psychological or mental harm, intentional or negligent, during sexual activity.” And “non-exploitation” as “any act or act of real or attempted unjust exploitation of the child`s situation of vulnerability, different power or trust during sexual activity.” Citing the 2015 National Baseline Study on Violence Against Children, González said that one in five children in the Philippines aged 13 to 17 reported experiencing sexual abuse, while one in 25-year-olds experienced forced sex as children. (NAP) 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.

“The United Nations has long been concerned about the alarming age of sexual consent in the Philippines,” Gustavo González, the UN`s humanitarian coordinator and coordinator, said in a statement issued in July 2021. The Act mandates the Department of Education of the Philippines to raise awareness of children`s rights by teaching age-appropriate subjects relevant to the provisions of the Act and incorporating them into the core curriculum. “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. “It`s very important to have a clear age to determine legal rape, and the under-12s of a 1930 law was just something that couldn`t be justified.” Newsletter | Click here for the best explanations of the day in your inbox. The Philippines is required to enact laws to protect children, having 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 law is gender-neutral and applies to children and offenders, both boys and girls. It states that rape is “committed by a person who would have carnal intercourse with another person”, that the “offended party is under sixteen (16) years of age or has dementia”.

A separate bill targeting online child sexual abuse and exploitation is currently before Congress. It provides equal protection for boys and girls and requires the Ministry of Education to include “age-appropriate” courses on children`s rights in primary school curricula. In India, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012 defines a “child” as anyone under the age of 18 and therefore sexual activity with a “child” is considered sexual assault. But as of Monday, the law hadn`t been changed in 91 years. Factors included a lack of education and understanding among legislators and the public of concepts such as children`s cognitive development and the ability to give informed consent, UNICEF Philippines Child Protection Officer Patrizia Benvenuti said in 2021. Republic Act (RA) No. 11648, signed by Rodrigo Duterte on March 4, amends Republic Act No. 3815 or the Revised Penal Code and Republic Act No.

7610, or Special Protection of Children from Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination. The Catholic-majority nation had one of the lowest ages of consent in the world and allowed adults to have sex with children as young as 12 if they consented. In the Philippines, activists have been pushing to raise the age of consent since the 1980s. The previous law protected predators, critics say, because they can claim victims consented — and children as young as 12 can often be forced or threatened to shut up. Under the Duterte-approved bill, which is gender-neutral, any adult who has sexual contact with someone under the age of 16 would commit legal rape unless the age difference between them was three years or younger and the sex was consensual and not abusive or abusive.