The government should amend the Gender Equality in Employment Act (性別平等工作法) and corporations must be transparent in their handling of reports of sexual harassment, the Nuan Nuan Sunshine Association and Citizen Congress Watch told a news conference yesterday.
An alleged sexual assault by a McDonald’s supervisor exposed a lack of preventive efforts and follow-up procedures at large corporations, the groups said.
A former McDonald’s employee aged 17 last month committed suicide following the alleged incident involving a supervisor surnamed Lee (李) at a Taipei restaurant.
Photo courtesy of Citizen Congress Watch
The incident shows the trauma that people feel from sexual violence, the groups said.
There were 343,000 people affected by sexual harassment or assault in 2023, but more than half remained silent, the groups said, citing a Ministry of Labor poll.
The numbers show that pre-emptive measures are ineffective and do not offer adequate protection for those affected, they said.
People often find it hard to speak out because the harasser is in a position of power, Nuan Nuan said, adding that public stereotypes of what “perfect victims” should look and sound like often mean reports are not submitted.
The government should amend Article 13 of the act and the Regulations for Establishing Measures on Prevention of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace (工作場所性騷擾防治措施準則) to require employers to refer cases to a counselor, or a medical or social welfare establishment within seven days of receiving the complaint, the groups said.
The Ministry of Labor should follow up on the cases, regularly review corporate guidelines and consult third-party experts, they added.
Large corporations should review and publish their internal sexual harassment prevention guidelines and training regimen, the groups said.
Separately, McDonald’s Taiwan yesterday addressed the situation involving Lee.
It “expresses its sincerest apology to the victim and her family,” McDonald’s Taiwan said, adding that it had failed in taking “preventative action before [the alleged incident] happened and the handling was not timely nor comprehensive enough.”
The employee reported an initial incident on March 3 last year, the company said, adding that the authorities are investigating and it has turned over all relevant information.
On March 25, she filed a sexual assault complaint with the company, it said, adding that an internal investigation found evidence substantiating her claims.
McDonald’s Taiwan denied that it was de-escalating the issue by saying that she had a relationship with the former manager and added that he is not related to McDonald’s Taiwan chairman Lee Chang-lin (李昌霖).
Additional reporting by CNA
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) and Chunghwa Telecom yesterday confirmed that an international undersea cable near Keelung Harbor had been cut by a Chinese ship, the Shunxin-39, a freighter registered in Cameroon. Chunghwa Telecom said the cable had its own backup equipment, and the incident would not affect telecommunications within Taiwan. The CGA said it dispatched a ship under its first fleet after receiving word of the incident and located the Shunxin-39 7 nautical miles (13km) north of Yehliu (野柳) at about 4:40pm on Friday. The CGA demanded that the Shunxin-39 return to seas closer to Keelung Harbor for investigation over the
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
RSS