Sexual assault and domestic violence still appears to be a very real problem for women in Taiwan, according to Governmental statistics yesterday which revealed that cases of sexual assault in 1999 reached a new peak of 2053 -- nearly three times the figure of 10-years ago.
Domestic violence prevention achievements are minimal, despite the fact women were given legal protection just eight months ago under new statutes.
Results of government research have estimated that 140,000 women may have experienced domestic violence in their lifetimes. This figure is 20 times higher than the number of reported cases.
At a conference on women's personal safety by the Cabinet-level Committee for Women's Right's Promotion (行政院婦女 益促進會) yesterday, governmental reports and research revealed that women's safety continues to deteriorate.
According to statistics from the Minister of Interior (MOI), there were 2,053 sexual assault cases last year, including rape and indecent acts under duress. This translates into 5.6 cases on average per day.
Young women aged between 12 to 17 are the most likely victims, comprising more than half of the total.
If only rape cases are taken into account, the growth rate can be seen more clearly, as shown in a paper presented by Wang Ju-hsuan (王如玄), a lawyer from the Awakening Foundation (婦女新知基金會).
She cited statistics from the Criminal Police Bureau indicating 1,728 rape cases occurred in 1999. In 1989 only 605 rape cases were recorded.
According to Huang Fu-yuan (
He said the unreported "black cases" are usually seven to 10 times those of the officially reported rape cases, according to research by both scholars and women's groups.
Lawyer Wang Ju-hsuan also pointed out that the conviction rate for rape cases was only about 10 percent in the last two years. With 1,797 victims last year, only 197 aggressors were convicted, according to criminal case statistics.
Another concern is domestic violence, for which women were provided with legal protection eight months ago, under the Domestic Violence Prevention Law.
Since then, there have been a flood of cases nationwide.
Official cases from the MOI total 6,177, but Ting Yen-chih (丁雁琪), a social worker who has been counseling victims of domestic violence at the Women's Rescue Foundation (婦女救援基金會), said the actual number of cases could be as high as 140,000.
According to Ting, an MOI-sponsored investigation showed that 3 percent of married women had recently experienced domestic violence.
Estimates from these statistics would mean there were around 140,000 victims of domestic violence last year, she said.
"The existing rescuing and handling system for domestic violence is impoverished both in quality and quantity," said Ting.
Through case studies with her clients, Ting pointed out that each victims' extra expenses and losses due to domestic violence could range from NT$280,000 to NT$480,000.
These costs include medical expenses, lawsuit fees, mental counseling, job losses and childcare.
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