×
App Icon
The Standard e-Paper
Join Thousands Daily
★★★★ - on Play Store
Download App

Philippines raises minimum age of sexual consent to 16

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte. [Courtesy of Euronews]

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has signed into law a bill that raises the minimum age of sexual consent from 12 to 16, his office said on Monday, in a bid to protect minors from rape and sexual abuse.

The Philippines until now has had one of the world's lowest minimum ages of sexual consent, behind Nigeria's age of 11, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Premium Article

Get Full Access for Ksh299/Week.

Fact-first reporting that puts you at the heart of the newsroom. Subscribe for full access.
Continue Reading  →
What you get
  • Unlimited access to all premium content
  • Ad-free browsing experience
  • Mobile-optimised reading
  • Weekly newsletters & digests
Pay via
M - PESA
VISA
Airtel Money
Secure Payments Kenya's most trusted newsroom since 1902