Child Advocate Groups Call for Stronger Anti-Rape Law
Child advocate groups: the Children’s Legal Bureau (CLB) and the Child’s NGO Network (CNN), call for an amendment to Republic Act 8353 or the Anti-Rape Law.
Both non-government organizations are calling to increase the determining age for sexual consent from 12 to 16 years old.
According to the Center for Women’s Resources, every 62 minutes, rape happens in the Philippines and seven out of 10 victims are children.
“The law seems to say that when a woman, twelve years of age, was invited to have sex by a guy and acceded, there was no use of ‘force, threat, or intimidation, fraudulent machinations and grave abuse of authority,’ and that she was fully conscious of what happened, the man cannot be convicted of rape,” said Attorney Noemi B. Truya-Abarientos, spokesperson of CLB and chairperson of CNN.
The Philippines has the lowest age of sexual consent compared to its ASEAN counterparts.
In Cambodia and Thailand, the lowest age of sexual consent is at 15 years old while in Singapore and Malaysia, it is at 16 and Vietnam at 18 years of age.
Police Senior Inspector Jereme Sheila V. Gurtiza of the Women and Children’s Desk of the Police Regional Office – 7 however, insisted to push the age to ‘under 18 or 22’ because the “prefrontal cortex of a human brain, which is responsible for decision-making, fully develops at 22.”
The age of sexual consent is inconsistent with other children’s laws in the country.
Primarily, under the Family Code of the Philippines, a person is considered qualified and held responsible for all acts of civil life if he or she is 18 years of age, said Abarientos.
“Nganong 16? Nganong dili 18? Dili man gani kita makasal kung dili 18.” (Why 16 and not 18? We can’t even get married if not 18?) raised Jisel Opiña, president of the Parent-Teacher Association Federation.
The amendment also eliminates the conditions of rape and discrimination between female and male victims.
“Under the same law, a boy can never be a victim of rape. Sexual assault, yes, but not rape,” said Abarrientos.
CNN pointed out the physical and psychological effects will still be the same regardless of gender.
Lawyer Lisa Tumulak asserted that the campaign is long overdue. Bills amending the said law have been filed since 2008 in the 14th congress but there is no progress yet.
With these proposed provisions, CLB and CNN, along with its partners, hope to lessen if not eradicate the incidence of rape, especially to children, in the country. (Bridgette May Bayhon/PIA7)
