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Few people aware of sexual harassment regulations

The Sexual Harassment Prevention Law (性騷擾防治法) has been in effect since Feb. 5, but few victims have reported incidents to new sexual harassment prevention hotlines.

Based on the law, government agencies, companies and schools are required to set up committees and rules on sexual harassment, as well as channels for reporting violations.

In addition, violators face fines of between NT$10,000 and NT$100,000. Punishment for kissing, hugging or touching someone's breasts, hips or private areas can add up to two years in prison, which can be exchanged for a penalty of up to NT$100,000.

But despite the new rules, many firms in Kaohsiung have reportedly said they have not received any calls from employees wishing to report sexual harassment.

According to the Central News Agency, the Economic Processing Zone Administration's hotline, for example, has not received any reports since it was set up, even though more than 70,000 laborers work in the zone.

Even social groups received fewer complaints on their hotlines in the first month after the law came into effect.

Women's groups have criticized the government's implementation of the lawas ineffective. They attribute the lackluster response to the new rules to inadequate publicity about the regulations.

According to a poll conducted by women's rights group Awakening Kaohsiung in Kaohsiung in January, more than half of the 1,962 people questioned had no idea when the law would come into effect or where to obtain information about it.

Though 65 percent of the poll's respondents said they had been sexually harassed, only 6.2 percent said they would actively seek a legal or official resolution, while more than 20 percent said they would do nothing.

Given these prevailing attitudes, unless the law is actively and intensive promoted, victims of sexual harassment, regardless of gender, may still not know where to turn for help.

In addition, few people may know how the law defines "sexual harassment," which may leave them confused about what behavior violates the law.

The government's promotional materials have not helped clear up the matter. In a public hearing on the law held by the Ministry of the Interior in late February, the information kit it provided said that calling women "ornaments" or "emotional" could also be viewed as sexual harassment.

In response, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators Wang Yu-ting (王昱婷) and Joanna Lei (雷倩) accused the ministry of cultivating stereotypes about women instead of helping to explain to the public what constitutes sexual harassment.

Other issues may be contributing to limited reporting of sexual harassment.

According to Taiwan Women's Web Forum, the standard for judging whether a behavior is sexual harassment "does not lie in whether the accused person's action is intentional, but in what feelings his or her behavior arouses in the receiver."

However, this may also make it difficult to define what actions fall under sexual harassment.

Company hierarchies and power imbalances can also make victims feel they have no alternative but to keep sexual harassment to themselves.

Awakening Kaohsiung said that one woman who worked in an information technology company once told the foundation that she had no choice but to resign after being harassed by her superior.

The long procedure for processing a complaint may also be a reason why few victims report cases to company or social group hotlines.

Under the official procedure, it takes at least 14 days for an investigation to be launched, regardless of which agency or committee the victim reports the case to. If a defendant appeals, it can take more than 200 days to reach a final resolution.

Huang Yi-ling (黃怡翎), assistant to Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Sue-ying (黃淑英) once said the process "wastes time" and "[is] complicated."

On the eve of the implementation of the law, Minister of the Interior Li Yi-yang (李逸洋) called on the public to enforce the law, and create a safe and friendly environment.

But despite the limited reporting of sexual harassment in the wake of the new laws, they are beginning to be used.

Last Wednesday, the Taipei City Government ruled on its first two sexual harassment cases since the law came into effect. The two defendants, both male directors of their companies, were fined NT$50,000.

The city's Center for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault said the two punishments served as a warning for potential sexual offenders to be on the alert.
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