![]() In a statement on Monday, UNICEF praised the “legislative milestone,” calling it “an essential step towards fulfilling children’s rights to protection from sexual violence, abuse and exploitation. Each state enacts its owns laws which set the age of consent. Factors included a lack of education and understanding among lawmakers and the general public of concepts like children’s cognitive development and the ability to give informed consent, said Patrizia Benvenuti, child protection chief at UNICEF Philippines, in 2021. The age of consent in the United States ranges from 16 to 18 years old depending on the state, meaning that a person 15 years of age or younger cannot legally consent to sexual contact. Victims’ advocates also argue the low age of consent contributed to what international rights organizations have described as high levels of sex trafficking and teenage pregnancy in the Philippines, compounded by gaps in the enforcement of existing laws.īut until Monday the law hadn’t been changed for 91 years. The former law protected predators, critics say, because they can claim victims consented – and children as young as 12 can often be coerced or threatened into silence. “I am elated that our collective efforts at pushing for stronger protection against rape and other forms of sexual abuse are advancing,” he said in a statement.Īctivists in the Philippines have been pushing to raise the age of consent since the 1980s. Lawrence Fortun, one of the bill’s main sponsors, described it as “a major step forward”. “We welcome this legal development and hope that it will help protect young girls from rape and sexual abuse,” said Josalee Deinla, spokesperson of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, which provides legal help to poor and marginalised people in the Philippines. Under Philippine law, 12-year-olds can consent to sex. However, adultery can still play a role in divorce proceedings. The exemption does not apply if the one of those involved was under 13. Bigamy Child under 14 Child under 16 Child under 18 Consent Fornication Incest Liability for injury during consensual sex Adultery It is not against the law for a married person to have sex with someone other than their spouse. 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. One in five respondents age 13 to 17 reported experiencing sexual violence, while one in 25 experienced forced consummated sex during childhood, the study said. Until now, the Philippines has had one of the world’s lowest minimum ages of sexual consent, behind Nigeria’s age of 11, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).Ī joint 2015 study by UNICEF and the Center for Women’s Resources, a local non-governmental group, showed seven of 10 rape victims in the Philippines were children. The exact age spread and terms of these exemptions vary state by state.Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has signed into law a bill that raises the minimum age of sexual consent from 12 to 16, his office said on Monday, in a bid to protect minors from rape and sexual abuse. ![]() ![]() * Starred states have a close-in age-exemption to their age of consent legislation - this protects people close in age who engage in consensual sexual acts from being prosecuted under age of consent laws. Each individual must be at least 14 years of age and younger than 18 years of age. Violation of these laws by engaging in sexual acts with a person under the applicable age of consent can result in charges from a misdemeanor (such as corruption of a minor) to a felony (such as statutory rape) depending on the jurisdiction and the circumstances. Romeo and Juliet: this applies to consensual sex between two minors. The age of consent is between 16 and 18 in all states. The legal age of consent in the United States varies from state to state, with different ages applicable based on a variety of factors including the genders of the actors, type of sexual act, relationship between the actors, and more. The Legal Age of Consent is the minimum age at which a person is considered by the law to be legally able to consent to, and engage in, sexual acts. ![]()
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