Philippine president signs into law raising sexual consent minimum age from 12 to 16
March 7, 2022, 8:19 am

Philippine president signs into law raising sexual consent minimum age from 12 to 16

The Arab News reported, citing Reuters, Philippines President's office said on Monday that President Rodrigo Duterte has signed into law a bill that raises the minimum age of sexual consent from 12 to 16, in a bid to protect minors from rape and sexual abuse.

According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Philippines until now has had one of the world’s lowest minimum ages of sexual consent, behind Nigeria’s age of 11.

A 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 study said, one in five respondents age 13 to 17 reported experiencing sexual violence, while one in 25 experienced forced consummated sex during childhood.

Manila city in Philippines (File photo: Pixabay)

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.

Child marriage becomes illegal in Philippines

The exemption does not apply if the one of those involved was under 13.

“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 marginalized people in the Philippines.

Lawrence Fortun, one of the bill’s main sponsors, described it as “a major step forward.”

Philippines Duterte orders arrest of mask violators to contain COVID-19 surge

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."

Source: arabnews

Angelina Jolie arrives in Yemen to draw attention to civilians suffering of the conflict UK interior minister escalates response to Ukraine humanitarian crisis

Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.