PASAY CITY -- Emphasizing the need for an urgent response to child sexual abuse and exploitation in the country, Senator Richard J. Gordon will sponsor a bill defining the crime of statutory rape and other acts of sexual abuse from 12 to the international standard of 16 years of age.

“Keeping 12 as the age of consent endangers children and makes them more vulnerable to sexual abuse. The Congress must uphold the right of every child to freedom from sexual exploitation that’s why we introduce Senate Bill No. 2332,” said Gordon, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights.

Gordon pointed out that the Philippines has the lowest age of sexual consent in Asia and one of the lowest in the world.

“The rape statistics in our country that involved children also remain troubling, so, we strongly support the increase of age of sexual consent as thousands of children are robbed of their youth,” Gordon stressed.

Another significant provision of SBN 2332 is that men and women may be charged with statutory rape. The proposed law, as Gordon explained, will address this issue by giving equal protection to boys.

“The sexual orientation of the offender is of no importance as we find that perpetrators of sexual abuse against boys are given much lesser sentences than those found guilty of raping girls,” he added.

During the deliberation and review of the proposed bills of various Senators, including Senate Bill No. 1853 or the ‘Age of Statutory Rape and Other Sexual Abuse Act’ filed by Gordon, he said that the first National Baseline Study on Violence Against Children conducted in 2015, led by the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC), revealed that one in every five Filipino children aged 13-17 years old experienced sexual violence, while one in 25 of all respondents experienced forced consumated sex during childhood.

The study further showed that the offenders are often family members.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, where the Philippines is a signatory, recommended to the government to increase the age of sexual consent from 12 to 16 years old.

“We are hoping to pass amendments with regard to child sexual abuse as this daunting task will help improve child protection in our country,” Gordon said. (OSRG)