Violence against women, child abuse, prostitution and smuggling of women and children for the sex trade remain serious problems in Taiwan despite widespread government efforts to fight these crimes, according to the US state department's latest report on global human rights violations, released on Monday.
The report, which details the human rights records of 196 countries, contains an extensive, 11,000-word section on Taiwan which generally praises the state of human rights in Taiwan, but points out a number of problem areas.
In addition to its comments on women's and children's rights, the report also finds problems with official corruption in Taiwan and the treatment of prisoners.
"Violence against women, including domestic violence and rape, remained a serious problem" in 2003, the year in which most of the report's data was collected.
While noting that the government has set up reporting hotlines and centers to aid female victims of abuse, the report says that prosecutions were hampered by the fact that "strong social pressure discouraged abused women from reporting incidents to the police to avoid disgracing their families."
"Rape also remained a serious problem, and its victims were stigmatized socially. Experts estimate that the number of rapes was 10 times the number reported to the police," the report said.
Taiwan's National Police Administration reports that in the first half of the year, 898 cases of rape and sexual assault were reported. In the first seven months, Ministry of Justice figures show that 276 people were indicted for rape or sexual assault, and 216 were convicted.
Prostitution, including child prostitution, also remained a problem, the state department noted.
"There were reports of a growing trend of young women, often well-educated, entering into part-time prostitution. There also were credible reports of a small number of women being trafficked onto the island for purposes of prostitution and reports of a larger number of women who entered [on their own] for the purposes of engaging in prostitution," the report said.
Turning to child abuse, the report termed this a "serious problem," with 5,465 cases of child abuse being reported in 2003, according to the interior ministry, a 20 percent jump from 2002. It pointed out that government and private groups have increased public awareness of the problem, which "is likely a major reason for the increase in reported cases."
Child prostitution is also a problem, particularly among Aboriginal children. However, the practice of Aboriginal families selling their children into prostitution "no longer exists," the report says.
Most child prostitutes start as young as 12 years old, and legal loopholes and cultural barriers remain obstacles to enforcement, is says.
"Brothel owners used violence, drug addiction, and other forms of coercion to prevent child prostitutes from escaping," it said.
In a separate section on the smuggling of women and children to work in the sex trade, the state department charges that "the island remained a significant transit point and, to a lesser extent, a destination for trafficked persons," often at the hands of organized crime rings which smuggle small numbers of women at a time.
The report did, however, cite estimates by Taiwan experts that the number of trafficking victims had "decreased significantly" in recent years.
Most of the smuggling involved woman from China, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Indonesia, with smaller numbers coming from Malaysia and Burma.
"Criminal gangs in mainland China reportedly used deceptive measures to recruit and procure young women who were then trafficked to Taiwan-based organized crime gangs who arrange sham marriages to enable them to obtain visas to enter Taiwan" to become prostitutes, the report said.
"Many of the victims were aware that they were to work as prostitutes, but were deceived by the traffickers about what their pay and working and living conditions would be upon arrival."
In Taiwan, they were forced to become sex slaves, the state department says.
"They were kept isolated, their passports were held, and they were threatened with violence if they did not cooperate," the report said.
It also says that Taiwan remains a "significant transit point" for the smuggling of women from China who are attempting to sneak into the US and other countries.
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