It is never about what she wears

They’re called batang ina, but this label hides thousands of children who were born after being impregnated by older men. 

During the first hearing on the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (APP) Bill in the 20th Congress, the Commission of Population and Development (CPD) made it clear that the growing cases of underage pregnancy are, in fact, cases of statutory rape.

However, what’s more troubling is that the fathers of these cases are significantly older men. In 2024, the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that over 3,600 live births were by underage mothers. But behind each number is more than just consent: it reflects the environment that allowed children to have children.

With mothers being younger than 15, the majority of the cases revealed fathers who were 6-10 years older, standing at 912 cases. Aside from this are those who were 3-5 years older, with 693 cases, and 11-20 years older, with 333 cases. 

While these numbers fall in the hundreds, they might seem small at first glance. But they are definitely not isolated cases. 

Taken together, they reveal an alarming pattern not just in the age differences but in how older men are able to sexually exploit kids.

Why kids can’t fight back

With the numbers on hand, it is only the tip of the iceberg, as the only cases that are taken into account are actually those that were reported. 

Particularly, in 2021 alone, two million children in the Philippines were exposed to online sexual abuse and exploitation. Children experienced grooming, and in exchange for sexual acts, they received gifts or money. Out of those two million, it revealed the following:

• 0-4% of victims reported
• 0-3% know how to report to the authorities
• 44% do not know where to get help 

Furthermore, one of the reasons why two children out of three do not report the crime is that they are not aware that they are being raped. This further proves that silence is the true killer of protection, because what is never reported is never stopped.

Such silence can be seen when it comes to cases of incest, where the shame of speaking up is bottled up in fear of being a source of conflict for the family. But this way, family loyalty shields the abuser, while the child is left voiceless.

In a separate survey, 52% of Filipinos are under the age of 24. Of these numbers:

• 20% are under the age of 6
• 33% have suffered at the hands of a family member (2,300,000 victims of incest).

And as most incest cases take place inside the family home when the victim is alone, the reality is clear: they are failed by the very people who were supposed to protect them. 

Aside from familial suppression, another Filipino culture that holds children back from speaking up is the deeply ingrained idea of abuse as a taboo topic. Time and again, society has discouraged victims from saying a word to avoid scandals and issues. And most victims succumb to adopting this norm of silence, as their abusers roam free. 

But even when victims break free from silence, they face another societal enemy: victim-blaming. This Filipino culture has a way of twisting the story and painting the victims as the cause of their own suffering, questioning what they were wearing or why they didn’t stop the abuse. 

While this cruel narrative only pushes victims more to hide in their shells and shifts the responsibility away from the abuser, it shows that without proper safeguards in place, courage alone is not enough to stop the abuse.

Poverty is the real predator

In place of protections, various laws such as Republic Act 11648, or the Stronger Protection Against Rape and Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Act, which defines statutory rape from below 12 to below 16, already exist, recognizing that minors cannot legally give consent. Another law is Republic Act 11930, or the Anti-Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) and Anti-Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Materials (CSAEM) Act, which ensures children’s protection from online sexual exploitation and abuse, aiming to mitigate the growing risks in online spaces. 

However, the existence of these laws does not automatically mean that predators will stop approaching children. After all, the rise of the numbers points to an issue that mere laws alone cannot address.

Poverty remains one of the strongest causes of why many Filipino children are the main targets of sexual abuse and exploitation. In many homes where survival takes priority over safety, parents turn to their children in hopes for a better lifestyle, making the kids more susceptible to trauma, grooming, and exploitation. 

In this side of reality, laws act only after the children have been exposed. Without a solution where social conditions are improved, children will continue to fall victim to the system.  

Will kids keep having kids?

As debates over CPD’s APP Bill unfold, Congress must strike while the iron is hot, but still, even with the law in sight, children continue to fall through the cracks.

Poverty, cultural taboos, and familial loyalty leave minors exposed to predators, while victim-blaming narratives shift the abuser out of the picture. And until we confront the societal norms that keep victims silent, children will keep having children.