12 years old – that’s how young someone has to be to give sexual consent in the Philippines.
The Philippines has the lowest age of sexual consent in Asia and one of the lowest in the world. Tell our lawmakers to increase the age to determine statutory rape. SIGN THE PETITION HERE: https://t.co/lfJW52yrNy #ENDChildRape pic.twitter.com/b4Cap22ZMT
— UNICEF Philippines (@unicefphils) July 26, 2018
In the Philippines, 12-year-olds can give sexual consent, while the average age for other ASEAN countries is 16 years old. The current policy is one of the reasons why child rape cases in the Philippines are so high.
Here’s the deal: sexual intercourse with a child as young as 12 years old can’t be considered as child rape all the time since it is considered the “right” age to give consent.
While 12-year-old children can give consent for sex, HIV testing and other family planning services aren’t offered to young adults from 16 to 18 years old.
Senator Risa Hontiveros and Win Gatchalian have been pushing to raise the age of consent to 18 years old. They believe that this will help protect the children from rape and to give the youth better sex education. This is, of course, with the help of the Reproductive Health Bill.
There is an ongoing petition by UNICEF to increase the age determining statutory rape in the Philippines. You can show your support for it by clicking here.
