Written by: Julie Rhee
Visual by: CJ Limjap
On August 27th, a bill which increased the age of consent in the Philippines was approved by the House Committees on Revision of Laws and Welfare of Children. This caused the age of sexual consent to increase to 16, an astounding improvement, from the previous 12 years required to give consent. The Philippines had one of the lowest age of consent ages in the world. This meant that adults could have sexual contact with minors as young as 12 without having committed a criminal act under the law; as long as the minor testified the act was consensual. The Senators who supported the new regulation, that would raise the minimum age of consent, argued that minors around the age of 12 do not have the ability to make sound judgments on sexual matters, and that because they have a greater chance of being taken advantage of the law should help protect them. Adults who desire sexual contact with 12 year olds are “predators” and pedophiles who should be punished by the law.
Increasing the age of consent will not only prevent “predators” from exploiting young children without repercussion, but also decrease teenage pregnancies and STD cases. Teenage pregnancy is experienced by 5.99 % of Filipino girls, with an estimated 538 birth from teenage mothers a day in the Philippines. Early pregnancy forces young girls to take on parenting roles that they are not ready for, and also early marriage. These often trap young girls in the poverty cycle, as they are often unable to obtain adequate education, which can help them get non-minimum wage jobs. In fact, 74.9% of teenagers, of any genders, with a history of pregnancy have an education gap. Pregnancy and birth are significant factors in cases of high school dropouts, especially among girls. Only 50% of teen mothers are able to receive a high school diploma by the age of 22, which is a stark contrast to the 90% of women who do not give birth during their teenage years. These teen mothers are also more likely to have health problems, attain a lower paying job, and face unemployment in their future.
The current laws in the Philippines regarding the age of consent and other laws concerning sexual health are very inconsistent. This is evident in the HIV/AIDS prevention law, which prohibits anyone below the age of 18 years old from getting an HIV antibody test without parental consent, leading many minors who suspect they have gotten an STD to not get it tested. Likewise, the Reproductive Health Law also prevents minors from getting access from contraceptive methods without parental consent, which increases the occurrence of teen pregnancies and STDS transmission. As of now, Filipino adolescents can engage in sexual acts. However this is not extended to relations between children and adults. The increase in the age of consent will mild these problems, as less teenagers and even children who have not started puberty, will engage in sexual acts that may lead to long-lasting problems in the future.
The age of consent signifies the age which someone is deemed capable of consenting to sexual activity. While this consent may be misunderstood or forced for people of any ages, it is more common in minors who are less likely to be aware of what exactly they are consenting to. The increase of the age of consent from 12 to 16 will cause many benefits especially regarding education. Less children will be prone to sexual activities and thus, less will have to bear the responsibilities that may come with it-- which often prevents them from receiving education.
Works Cited
“Consent at Every Age.” Harvard Graduate School of Education, www.gse.harvard.edu/news/uk/18/12/consent-every-age.
Gotinga, JC. “Senate Panel Approves Bills Raising Age of Sexual Consent from 12 to 16.” Rappler, Rappler, 1 Oct. 2020, www.rappler.com/nation/senate-panel-approves-bills-raising-age-sexual-consent-16-years-old.
Graham, Philip. “Against the Stream: Lowering the Age of Sexual Consent.” BJPsych Bulletin, Cambridge University Press, Aug. 2018, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6436061/.
Gueorguieva, Ralitza V., et al. “Effect of Teenage Pregnancy on Educational Disabilities in Kindergarten.” OUP Academic, Oxford University Press, 1 Aug. 2001, academic.oup.com/aje/article/154/3/212/125794.
Santos, Ana P. “[Dash of SAS] 12 vs. 18: The Age of Consent.” Rappler, Rappler, 17 Dec. 2015, www.rappler.com/voices/imho/dash-sas-12-vs-18-age-consent.
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