Taipei City’s Social Welfare Department called on companies yesterday not to leak the personal information of sexual harassment victims when investigating their cases, warning that those violating the regulations could face fines of up to NT$100,000.
Two years after the promulgation of the Sexual Harassment Prevention Law (性騷擾防治法) in 2005, Taipei City’s sexual harassment prevention committee has received 178 sexual harassment complaints, 22 perpetrators have been punished with fines totaling NT$655,000 and three companies have also been fined for failing to help investigate staff members’ involvement in cases or for leaking victims’ information, the committees’ statistics showed.
Chang Mei-mei (張美美), a department division chief, told a press conference the committee had failed to collect enough evidence in many cases because perpetrators had committed the crime in crowded places.
Some of the companies, which are required by law to investigate sexual harassment complaints made by their employees, were also responsible for the low conviction rate because they revealed victims’ personal information or failed to establish sexual harassment prevention measures, committee members Luo Tsan-yin (羅燦煐) and Yao Shu-wen (姚淑文) said.
Most of the harassment cases involved either the touching of victims’ breasts or bottoms or verbal harassment, the committee’s statistics showed.
Lu Tien-si (呂天喜), director of the Taipei City police department’s MRT police office, said the office sent 128 policemen to patrol MRT stations every day and had established a perpetrators database to help victims identify their assailant more quickly.
Lu suggested passengers harassed on the MRT or other public transport press the emergency button on the train immediately and ask other passengers or the driver for help.
Yao said complaints were taken very seriously when they involved sexual harassment, even though the accused may not view their act as harassment.
For more information about sexual harassment prevention, please visit the department’s Web site at www.bosa.tcg.gov.tw.
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