Proposals have been made to raise the age of sexual consent from 12 to 18. [103] In 2020, the Philippine House of Representatives` committees for law review and child protection passed a proposal to increase it to 16. [104] In 2021, the Philippine Senate approved the measure to turn 16. [105] Senator Richard Gordon, the sponsor of the bill, and 21 other senators voted to approve the measure. [106] Sexual intercourse with a person under sixteen (16) years of age, section 128 of the Criminal Code: (1) Sexual intercourse or the satisfaction of sexual needs in an unnatural manner with a person who was manifestly under sixteen (16) years of age is punishable by labour law measures of up to two (2) years or arrest for up to six (6) months. or imprisonment for up to three (3) years. [118] The general age of consent in Macau is 14 years, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. Although persons under the age of 18 are considered minors, the Penal Code does not criminalize sexual relations with persons over the age of 16 (except in the specific case of minors between the ages of 16 and 18 who have been entrusted to an adult for educational or supportive purposes and who have abused such a position (Article 167/1 (b) of the Macao Penal Code)). In mainland China, the age of consent for sexual activity is 14, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. [42] Chinese law defines rape as sex with a girl under the age of fourteen.
A five-year prison sentence and a fine may be imposed if the girl acted as a prostitute under the age of 14. [43] In August 2015, the Underage Prostitutes Act was repealed. The Law on Legal Rape now also applies to the prostitution of minors. [44] Persons with special duties towards underage women who have reached the age of 14 will be held liable for rape if they force the victim to have sexual relations with them, taking advantage of their dominant position or the victim`s situation of powerlessness. [45] The proposed recommendations also lower the bar for sexual offences. Currently, the offender must be at least 21 years of age, there must be two or more cases of previous contact, and the offender must be the one who meets or travels to meet the minor. For example, a student over the age of 16 can legally consent to sexual relations with their teacher. However, the teacher could be convicted of a crime because the sexual penetration of a minor is illegal if it took place in the context of an exploitative relationship in which the minor is 16 years of age or older but under 18 years of age. Although consensual sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 18 does not constitute legal rape, it is still a violation of the law if it is determined that the child is “exploited in prostitution or otherwise sexually abused”.
[97] According to Republic Act No. 7610,[98] a child is defined as a person under the age of 18 and the law states that any type of sexual activity outside of heterosexual marriage is illegal in Brunei. [35] The age of consent in Brunei is 16 years. However, under the Child Protection Act, the age of consent could be raised to 18. [63] The argument used is that sexual acts with a child can result in physical and mental injury, whereas the definition of a child is anyone under the age of 18. A court order was reportedly issued under the Child Protection Act against an Australian citizen in 2009. [64] The minimum age for consensual sex is 12 years. United States national reports on human rights practices indicate the Philippines` age of consent at the age of 12. [95] Sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 12 is defined as rape under Chapter 3, Section 266 of the Anti-Rape Act of 1997. [96] Consensual sex outside of marriage is permitted by law for persons 21 years of age and older.
[27] When a married person has sexual relations with a person to whom he or she is not married, the person to whom he or she is married has the freedom under the Code of Criminal Procedure to lay charges of “adultery” if he or she so wishes. They also have the freedom to drop charges after filing if they wish. However, these options would not be available after three months since the person learned of adultery. Marriage should, of course, be recognized by the government so that the mentioned options can be made available. The age of consent in Tajikistan is 16 years, as stated in article 141 of the Criminal Code. The penalty is set at a deprivation of liberty of 2 to 5 years. [22] Sexual relations with minors under the age of 14 are punished more severely (from 1 to 8 years in prison) than with minors between the ages of 14 and 16 (up to 4 years in prison if the offender has abused his or her inexperience). sex, regardless of the sex or orientation of the participants (male-male, female-female, male-female), is punishable by a more severe penalty (3 to 10 years in prison if it is practiced with a minor under 14 years of age and up to 4 years if it is practiced with an older minor). [84] The marriageable age is 16 years. Before this age, marriage requires the approval of the Sharia Court of the State of Bahrain. [1].
The minimum age for marriage without the permission of the girl`s father or guardian is 21. [28] Penalties under the child pornography provisions range from five to 10 years of mandatory imprisonment, with a possible fine and caning, depending on the offender`s involvement in the creation or handling of the material. Child sexual abuse can be committed on a child by a person of the same age, a few years older or much older than the victim. Many abusers have a previous relationship with the child – they may be family friends or parents, teachers, coaches or babysitters. Under section 9 (1) of the Prevention of Abuse of Women and Children and Children Act 2000, rape is defined as having sexual intercourse with a woman with or without her consent if she is under sixteen years of age (16). [30] Last year, Robinson, a mixed martial arts teacher, was sentenced to four years in prison for a number of crimes, ranging from sexual penetration of two 15-year-olds to screening an obscene film for a six-year-old girl.