The Garden of Hope Foundation has called for amendments to regulations that require the media not to name institutions involved in child abuse cases, to prevent more children from being abused while the investigation is under way.
While aimed at protecting children’s privacy, laws that restrict the media from exposing potentially unsafe institutions put unaware parents and children at risk, the non-governmental organization said on Saturday.
Investigations into sexual abuse cases, which are not widely reported, often last one to two years, during which time the media should be able to play a part in preventing potential assaults, Garden of Hope CEO Wang Yueh-hao (王玥好) said.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
The foundation in March proposed amendments to Articles 66 and 69 of the Protection of Children and Youths Welfare and Rights Act (兒童及少年福利與權益保障法).
It called for administrative agencies to be required to provide investigation reports to victims’ parents under Article 66 and adjustments allowing greater disclosure by the media, which is prohibited under Article 69, with a few exceptions.
Wang made the appeal in light of a case involving a teacher at a private preschool in Taipei who in August last year was charged with molesting six children.
A verdict is expected next month.
The suspect, a man in his 30s, was investigated multiple times on suspicion of sexually abusing minors, with the first complaints filed in June 2022. Police dropped the initial case due to a lack of evidence.
The man, whose mother owned the preschool, continued to teach there, but more parents filed complaints in March last year and he was detained in July that year.
The Taipei Department of Education banned the man from working as a teacher in Taiwan and his name was published on a list of disbarred teachers on a central government Web site in September. It also revoked the preschool’s license on Oct. 1.
After prosecutors issued the first indictment in August, more than 20 other parents filed allegations of the same nature against him. Those cases are being handled separately.
There were only 14 media reports about the preschool in 2022, the Garden of Hope said.
Many parents would not have unknowingly sent their children to the preschool had there been more media coverage of the case, and there would not have been an additional 20 victims, Wang said.
On Saturday and Sunday, Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City councilors Hsu Shu-hua (許淑華), Chien Shu-pei (簡舒培) and Ho Meng-hua (何孟樺) said the city government and Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) had been negligent in the case.
They said the education department should not have allowed the man to continue working as a preschool teacher when he was under investigation in July 2022 or in March last year.
Its failure to intervene in a timely manner resulted in more children falling victim, they said.
Department Commissioner Tang Chih-min (湯志民) in a statement on Sunday refuted statements saying he had not taken action.
The department went through the preschool’s surveillance footage with police when the first report was filed in July 2022, and were unable to find evidence of the alleged crimes, Tang said.
Moreover, until the Statute for Preschool Educators (教保服務人員條例) was amended in March last year, the department had no legal authority to suspend or penalize a preschool teacher under investigation, Tang said.
The department promptly took action against the man and the preschool after receiving a report of the case on July 12 last year, launching an official investigation and subsequently imposing penalties, he said.
Meanwhile, Taipei’s Department of Social Welfare issued a separate statement, promising to step up inspections to prevent the preschool owner from getting back in business by using other people’s names, as has been alleged.
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