On the eve of International Women’s Day, GABRIELA hailed the signing into law republic act (RA) 116481, which raises the age of sexual consent from 12 to 16.

RA 116481 also effectively amends the 1997 Anti-Rape Law and the Revised Penal Code provisions on child rape as a crime.

In a statement, GABRIELA lauded the passage as a “hard-fought” victory for women and child rights advocates” who lobbied for the law’s passage, adding that its passage is a win in strengthening anti-sexual abuse measures in the country.

Prior to its passage, the age of consent in the Philippines is 12 years old, among the lowest in the world.

“The new law is a welcome win, and we hope that it would help address the highly alarming situation of rampant violence against women and children in the Philippines, where one child is sexually abused every 24 minutes and one woman is abused every 34 minutes, or roughly a hundred women and children sexually abused every day,” said Joms Salvador, Secretary General of GABRIELA.

Salvador furthered that the new law will have to “stand the test of time” in truly addressing the problem of sexual abuse and violence in the country, where about a dozens of laws criminalizing violence against women and children have been passed through the decades.

“While we want to emphasize the role of the women’s movement, including the unwavering work of legislator-advocates in Congress, including sole women’s sectoral representation Gabriela Women’s Partylist, in filing and eventually participating in the bicameral panel finalizing this bill, much work lies ahead in the implementation and prosecution aspect of the law,” Salvador added.

“As we commemorate the International Women’s Day on March 8, we also reiterate our demands to respect women’s democratic rights, which would mean pushing for real social change and never allowing yet another macho-fascist leader who will perpetuate the violence against women and children in the country,” she ended.