The Taiwan Coalition Against Violence yesterday urged voters to use their ballots to pressure local governments into putting more resources toward the prevention and handling of domestic violence and sexual assaults, as social workers nationwide are overwhelmed by heavy workloads caused by budget and personnel shortages.
“The number of domestic violence and sexual assault cases has been on the rise in recent years, yet the government has been cutting its budget for the prevention of such incidents and for social work,” coalition director-general Chang Ching-li (張錦麗) told a press conference in Taipei.
Government statistics show that nearly 130,000 cases of domestic violence were reported last year, involving 110,103 victims, up from 38,238 victims in 2002, while the number of people who reported sexual assaults increased from 5,638 in 2006 to 10,901 last year, Chang said.
The Taipei City Government allocated NT$300 million (US$10 million) to its Center for Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault last year, yet that works out to just NT$2,975 per case per month, Chang said.
“The monthly average funding per case in Changhua County was NT$661, followed by NT$639 for Yunlin County and NT$540 in Chiayi County,” Chang said.
Every local government had failed to keep social worker’s workloads below the statutory standard of 40 cases, with those in Yunlin, Chiayi and Greater Taichung being put in charge of an average of 108.81, 100.3 and 98.91 cases per person respectively.
“Such enormous workloads have taken a toll on the quality of service provided by the social workers, putting people at greater risk of domestic violence and sexual assault,” Chang said.
“We urge electorates in these constituencies to use their ballots in the Nov. 29 elections to pressure mayors and commissioners into making some real changes,” Chang said.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
The next minimum wage hike is expected to exceed NT$30,000, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday during an award ceremony honoring “model workers,” including migrant workers, at the Presidential Office ahead of Workers’ Day today. Lai said he wished to thank the awardees on behalf of the nation and extend his most sincere respect for their hard work, on which Taiwan’s prosperity has been built. Lai specifically thanked 10 migrant workers selected for the award, saying that although they left their home countries to further their own goals, their efforts have benefited Taiwan as well. The nation’s industrial sector and small businesses lay
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
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