The Executive Yuan yesterday said it plans to submit draft amendments to the Gender Equity Education Act (性別平等教育法), the Gender Equality in Employment Act (性別工作平等法) and the Sexual Harassment Prevention Act (性騷擾防治法) to the Legislative Yuan next month.
The proposed amendments come amid a wave of allegations of sexual misconduct against local political, media and social figures.
The Cabinet said that the amendments would focus on the definition of what constitutes sexual harassment and developing a better reporting mechanism.
Photo courtesy of DPP headquarters via CNA
The amendments would address employers’ responsibility regarding sexual misconduct, as current laws only provide guidance on preventing such incidents, Cabinet officials said.
Current laws stipulate that only companies with more than 30 employees are required to set up measures to prevent and report sexual misconduct in the workplace, leaving workers in small and medium-sized enterprises — the bulk of businesses in Taiwan — with no avenue to seek formal redress, the officials said.
The amendments would require more companies to establish their own formal reporting and punishment mechanisms, as well as shorten the period granted to address such complaints, the officials said.
Earlier this month, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said she had tasked Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) with leading a government review of the issue.
Apologizing for the DPP’s mishandling of sexual misconduct complaints, Tsai said that sexual harassment was a problem in all facets of life and society.
The draft amendments would be sent to the Legislative Yuan around the middle of next month, Cabinet spokesperson Lin Tze-luen (林子倫) said.
Cabinet officials said the reforms would be based on consultations with experts and existing international laws such as the International Labour Organization’s Violence and Harassment Convention.
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