The amendments to three gender equality laws came into effect yesterday, International Women’s Day, as part of an effort to expand protections for victims of all forms of harassment.
Following the #MeToo movement that swept across the nation last year, the government has taken measures to amend relevant acts, including the Gender Equity Education Act (性別平等教育法), the Gender Equality in Employment Act (性別平等工作法) and the Sexual Harassment Prevention Act (性騷擾防治法).
This is to ensure that victims of sexual misconduct and assault receive adequate support, including counseling, legal assistance and improved reporting systems.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
In workplaces, the amendments seek to address employers’ responsibility regarding sexual misconduct, as former laws only provided guidance on preventing such incidents.
If local agencies determine that an employer has sexually harassed an employee, the individual is to face a fine of NT$10,000 to NT$1 million (US$318 to US$31,809).
In addition, former laws stipulated that only companies with more than 30 employees were required to set up measures to prevent and report sexual misconduct in the workplace, which left those working in small and medium-sized enterprises — the bulk of businesses in Taiwan — unable to seek formal redress.
The amendments require companies with 10 to 30 employees to establish their own formal reporting and punishment mechanisms, as well as reduce the time required to address such complaints.
Meanwhile, the new law mandates that companies with more than 500 employees must offer counseling services to victims at least twice upon request.
Local agencies responsible for handling such cases are also obligated to provide essential legal assistance and support. In addition, employers are required to grant victims official leave to attend hearings, as stipulated by law.
In educational establishments, the new law stipulates that students and teachers should not engage in “intimate relationships.”
For college students or older, the law specifies that teachers should not have intimate relationships with students due to the power differential.
The law says that courts might determine a fine based on the severity of the incident; if the school principal is involved, the fine is higher.
The maximum penalty for teachers involved in such relationships is dismissal, the new law says.
Regarding the amendments, the Ministry of Education said in a statement that relevant regulations have been updated to provide clearer guidelines within the education system.
This encompasses teaching, instructing, management, counseling and employment opportunities, meaning that teachers are prohibited from engaging in such relationships with students due to the inherent power imbalance.
Students interning outside schools also fall under the protections introduced by the amendment, the ministry said.
However, women’s groups and activists have raised questions regarding whether the new laws would bring about improvements and be effectively followed.
Garden of Hope chief executive officer Wang Yueh-hao (王玥好) told a news conference on Wednesday that the amended Sexual Harassment Prevention Act still defines relevant misconduct as an act that “violates one’s willingness,” leading to victims being questioned about why they did not reject such advances in the first place, particularly in cases involving power dynamics.
Wang said the definition should be amended to refer to an act conducted “without one’s consent” rather than the original “violating one’s willingness” in a bid to highlight the subjectivity of the victim and hold the perpetrator accountable for their behavior.
Modern Women’s Foundation secretary-general Wu Tzu-ying (吳姿瑩) said that the amendments have led to a more detailed and intricate definition of sexual harassment, potentially making it more challenging for victims to seek legal assistance.
Wu suggested that officials develop more effective communication strategies to minimize confusion when handling such cases and make it easier for victims of sexual harassment to identify the relevant laws that apply in such situations.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
RSS