Last December 2021, the House of Representatives ratified the bicameral committee report raising the age of statutory rape from the current under 12 years old to under 16 years old.
What is statutory rape?
People often mistake statutory rape as simply having sexual intercourse with a minor below 18 years of age. However, this is not the case.
Statutory rape is non-forcible sexual activity where the victim is below the age of consent or the age required to legally consent to the behavior.
Any person, man or woman, may either be a perpetrator or a victim of rape or statutory rape. Although in most cases, it is the woman who is the victim of the crime.
Under our current law, particularly Article 266-A of the Revised Penal Code, as expanded and further amended by Republic Act No. 8353, or the Anti-Rape Law of 1997, the elements of statutory rape are as follows:
(1) The offended party is either (a) demented or a person who is insane, not able to think or understand between right and wrong or (b) below 12 years of age, even though there was consent;
(2) That the accused had carnal knowledge of the victim, regardless of whether there was force, threat, intimidation, fraud or grave abuse of authority
In statutory rape, it is enough that there was sexual intercourse with the victim who is demented or below 12 years of age for the accused to be liable for the crime. It is not necessary that the accused employed force, threat, intimidation, fraud or that there was grave abuse of authority.
This means that under our current law, any person who shall have sexual intercourse with another who is exactly 12 years old but below 18, where the minor has given consent, is not criminally liable for the crime of statutory rape.
Here, the law presumes that a minor who has reached the age of 12 is mature enough to give consent to any sexual activity.
Should the proposed bill raising the age of consent for statutory rape be signed into law, a person having sexual intercourse with another who is below 16 years of age shall now be liable for the crime of rape, even though there was consent to the sexual act.
Relevant provisions under the proposed bill include (1) the “sweetheart clause”, recognizing as a form of defense the legitimate relationship between 2 teenagers and (2) where the age difference between the victim and the accused is not more than 3 years and the act is proven to be consensual, accused is not liable for the crime of rape.
Take note, that the perpetrator may still be held liable under other laws pertaining to child abuse and exploitation, particularly R.A. 7610, or the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act. – NWI
