Legislators must end Philippines child sex shame
Sex with a 12-year-old remains legal with consent in a country where many pedophiles have gone unpunished
Street dwellers including children queue for free food distributed by the Society of the Divine Word in Manila. The pandemic has brought an increase in the sexual abuse of children in the Philippines. (Photo: AFP)
The greatest shame of the Philippines is the fact that it is legal under the 1930 Penal Code for a 50-year-old man to have sex with a pre-pubescent 12-year-old child and get away with it if the man can convince a court that the child “gave consent.”