PHILIPPINES
GMA News
The National Youth Commission on Friday asked both houses of Congress to raise the legal coverage of statutory rape from 12 years old to 16 years old.
In a statement, the chair of the NYC’s Committee on Social Inclusion and Equity called attention to the bigger picture behind the priest who was recently arrested for allegedly soliciting sex with a 13-year-old girl.
“If only our laws recognize teen prostitution as rape, that monsignor who allegedly abused that 13-year girl would be charged with rape and most probably he would not be out on bail today,” Commissioner Perci Cendaña was quoted to have said.
“With the proposal of the NYC, sexual intercourse or sexual relations with a child under 16 years of age would be penalized as rape, regardless of whether or not there was force, threat, intimidation, deprivation of reason, fraud, or grave abuse of authority,” the statement added.
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