Although activists claim that Taiwan’s fresh sexual harassment rules are a first stage in addressing its MeToo judgment, they still fall short in some areas.
After receiving a barrage of sexual assault allegations, the Democratic Progressive Party, which was in power, hurried to tighten rules.
These led to a number of party resignations and additional accusations against other influential people, including artists.
The constitutional changes are made five weeks prior to a crucial vote.
Professor of law Carol Lin praised the changes as a parliamentary victory but cautioned that it will take time for society to break down the deeply ingrained attitudes that make physical abuse commonplace.
Despite being praised for its liberal democracy for a long time, Taiwan’s society is still heavily masculine and hierarchical.
All organizations, including earlier exempt smaller firms with at least 10 workers, must set up programs for reporting sexual harassment under the new regulations passed in a special legislative session.
Additionally, companies are required to look into every sexual harassment complaint and inform the local labor government of their findings.
If they don’t, they could receive a fine of up to 1 million New Taiwan dollars($ 31,700 ).
In the past, alleged victims had no other option but to appear in court.
According to the new laws, acts that properly punish others for rejecting person’s advances as well as the use of derogatory or insulting language against someone because of their gender will be regarded as sexual harassment.
Additionally, the statute of limitations has been expanded.
Before patients may feel empowered to intervene, Prof. Lin from Taiwan’s National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University said,” I think we need to see some” victory stories” of the new legislation taking harassers to work.”
The revisions still do not provide victims with the proper remedies when abuse occurs outside of the office, according to former Taiwanese Labour Minister Wang Ju-hsuan.
For example, some campaigners have emphasized that the new rules do not address persistent sexual abuse in religious organizations.
A system to promote witnesses to act should be set up, according to Ms. Wang, a lawyer, who also wants harsher penalties to stop” malicious retaliation.”
She told Taiwan News that” it is difficult for sufferers to give information, not to mention the threat of retaliation and stress from societal bias.”
The legal changes, according to media celebrity Anissa Chang, one of the MeToo prosecutors, are” useful in instilling anxiety” in those who abuse their authority to set on others, which she claimed is a common practice in sectors like entertainment.
Strangely,” crime, harassing actions are regarded as conventions or even as” unspoken guidelines.” She claimed that this social trend is severely distorted.
Schools are also subject to the new regulations.
Today, it is expressly forbidden for teachers to engage in intimate relationships with students under the age of 18. Fines may be imposed on teachers and administrators who fail to inform the Ministry of Education of undergraduate complaints of harassment.
According to Wang Yueh-Hao, chief executive of Chinese non-profit Garden of Hope Foundation, the new norms must be accompanied by an overhaul of female capital and sex education in schools.
It has taken so long for these patients to come ahead because it is expected that people will always follow their mothers and leaders. Like perspectives may alter, she said.
However, Ms. Wang claimed that in the last two weeks, her organization that supports victims of sexual assault has seen a 20-fold increase in cases brought by alleged victims. She sees this as evidence that Taiwan’s MeToo action, despite being long delayed, has been successful.
The movement has been credited with its motivation coming from the Netflix hit Wave Makers.
A key scene in the series, which centers on Japanese political workers preparing for an election, occurs when a party spokeswoman decides to take action after receiving complaints from female employees about being sexually harassed by coworkers. However, the revelation may be detrimental to the party.
Some Taiwanese with similar views stepped forward as a result of this.
However, the judgment has also sparked a backlash, with several people casting doubt on the alleged victims’ motivations.
Such responses serve as a reminder that cultural attitudes as well as the rules need to change, according to Ms. Lin.
The really effective changes will eventually be found in social culture and gender education. She argued that society should prevent blaming the victims.
