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MANILA – Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has signed into regulation a invoice that raises the minimal age of sexual consent from 12 to 16, his workplace mentioned on Monday, in a bid to guard minors from rape and sexual abuse.
The Philippines till now has had one of many world’s lowest minimal ages of sexual consent, behind Nigeria’s age of 11, in line with the United Nations Kids’s Fund (UNICEF).
A joint 2015 examine by UNICEF and the Middle for Ladies’s Sources, an area non-governmental group, confirmed seven of 10 rape victims within the Philippines have been kids.
One in 5 respondents age 13 to 17 reported experiencing sexual violence, whereas one in 25 skilled compelled consummated intercourse throughout childhood, the examine mentioned.
Below the invoice endorsed by Duterte, which is gender impartial, any grownup partaking in sexual contact with anybody 16 or below can be committing statutory rape, until the age distinction between them was three years or much less and intercourse was confirmed to be consensual, and neither abusive nor exploitative.
The exemption doesn’t apply if the a kind of concerned was below 13.
“We welcome this authorized growth and hope that it’s going to assist shield younger ladies from rape and sexual abuse,” mentioned Josalee Deinla, spokesperson of the Nationwide Union of Peoples’ Attorneys, which offers authorized assist to poor and marginalised folks within the Philippines.
Lawrence Fortun, one of many invoice’s foremost sponsors, described it as “a significant step ahead.”
“I’m elated that our collective efforts at pushing for stronger safety in opposition to rape and different types of sexual abuse are advancing,” he mentioned in an announcement.
The Publish wires
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