[av_one_full first min_height=” vertical_alignment=” space=” custom_margin=” margin=’0px’ padding=’0px’ border=” border_color=” radius=’0px’ background_color=” src=” background_position=’top left’ background_repeat=’no-repeat’ animation=”]
[av_heading heading=’ Bill: Raise age of consent to 18 years old ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=’30’ subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY PRINCE GOLEZ
[/av_heading]
[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”]
Wednesday, September 6, 2017
[/av_textblock]
[av_textblock size=’18’ font_color=” color=”]
MANILA – A Senate bill seeks to raise the minimum age of consent to determine statutory rape to 18 years old.
Increasing the current minimum age of consent of 12 years old would recognize teen prostitution as rape, said Sherwin Gatchalian, author of the bill.
The Philippines has one of the lowest ages established in determining statutory sexual abuses against children, the senator claimed.
The legal age of consent is between 16 and 18 years old in the United States and 16 years old in Canada and Australia, he said.
There is a need to “strengthen” and “enforce” laws meant to address sexual violence against children, Gatchalian said in filing Senate Bill No. 1575.
“In the Philippines, the age of majority starts at 18 years [old],” said the senator. “Rights acquired upon reaching the age of majority include the right to give consent to a contract, the right to vote, the right to obtain a professional driver’s license, and the right to marry subject to obtaining parental consent.”
“Upon reaching the age of majority, a person is considered to have reached basic level of maturity that allows him to exercise all the rights and assume all the responsibilities of being an adult,” he added. “Consequently, the age of majority should also be considered as the proper age in terms of giving sexual consent.”/PN
[/av_textblock]
[/av_one_full]
