LEGAL AGE (can vote, enter into contracts, access contraceptives without parental consent, etc.)
GLOBAL AVERAGE MINIMUM AGE OF SEXUAL CONSENT Convention on Rights of a Child Convention on Elimination of Discrimination
can be held criminally liable and can access HIV services
Current age of sexual consent in the Philippines
2. Harmonizing minimum ages in laws related to sex and sexual health
Old enough to have sex but too young to access contraceptives: A child as young as 12 years of age in our current laws can give consent to sex, but they are prohibited from accessing safeguards that would protect them from the risks of unplanned pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections. The Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law (Republic Act 10354) states that adolescents are prohibited from accessing contraceptives or family planning services without parental consent.
In 2019, the Philippines has been ranked as the country with the fastest growing HIV epidemic in the world and alarmingly, 80 percent of cases are among the young people aged 15 to 24 years old. 20 A welcome development regarding this matter is the amended Philippine HIV and AIDS Policy Act of 2018 (RA 11166) allows persons aged 15 to 17 years old to undergo HIV testing even without the consent of a parent or guardian. The harmonization of the law on age of sexual consent with other related to sex and sexual health of young people is critical in protecting them from abuse, recognizing their sexuality and curbing the rise of teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.
18 Ibid. 19 UNICEF, Legal minimum ages and the realization of adolescents’ rights. A review of the situation in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2016 20 https://news.mb.com.ph/2019/10/21/ph-is-country-with- fastest-growing-hiv-cases-unaids/
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