Reading media reports about allegations of sexual harassment at a Tainan school, Chang Ping (張萍), director of the Humanistic Education Foundation’ southern Taiwan office, felt it could not have been an isolated case. Twenty years of experience in handling such cases had taught the foundation that perpetrators are almost never first-time offenders.
To identify victims in need of help, Chang asked the school and the city government to widen their checks and to organize a task force.
She asked the school to allow her to hold a seminar for parents and arrange time to talk to students about bodily rights and related legislation, making a great effort to win teachers’ support.
After four months of looking for victims while traveling through areas so remote that there was not even mobile phone reception, she held a news conference and demanded legal amendments to better protect victims’ rights and pursue protected teachers.
Chang demanded that the Criminal Code be amended to establish exceptions to the statute of limitations for sexual assault on children so that the countdown only begins once the victim reaches adulthood, and demanded that a retroactivity clause and penalties for anyone covering up sexual assault on children be included.
More importantly, the victims are no longer mere victims — they become social advocates who can confront those in power, demand justice and promote the advancement of Taiwanese law.
The Tainan Bureau of Education and the school have initiated procedures in accordance with the Gender Equity Education Act (性別平等教育法), but the general public might not know that the competent authority — the Ministry of Health and Welfare — is not involved at all.
The Sexual Assault Crime Prevention Act (性侵害犯罪防治法) has been around for 20 years, and Article 7 states that each academic year, students at the primary and middle-school levels should be given four hours or more of relevant courses, including courses on pregnancy and preventing pregnancy, and sexual assault prevention.
There are many cases of sexual assault every year — an average of almost two per day, according to the education ministry’s report on on-campus sexual assault — by teachers on students or between students, and there are even cases of girls who were not aware that they were pregnant giving birth in school restrooms.
However, I cannot seem to remember a single time when the health ministry commented on this state of affairs.
A non-governmental organization makes a huge voluntary effort, while the government agency charged with implementing policy stands on the sidelines as a teacher continues to sexually assault countless students for 20 years under the protection of his coworkers.
This is a shameful blot on the educational authorities, and although parents and the school share the blame for not improving students’ understanding of the concept of bodily autonomy, surely the main responsibility rests with the competent authority at central government level.
The health ministry should catch up with the times and formulate a policy to improve sexual assault prevention and punish school principals who have not been implementing the legally required education, as schools do not implement Article 7 of the Sexual Assault Crime Prevention Act and they are not being fined for not doing so.
The public should pressure the legislature to take action and the health ministry to reflect on the situation.
Huang Liya is a member of the Ministry of Education’s Gender Equality Commission.
Translated by Perry Svensson
I came to Taiwan to pursue my degree thinking that Taiwanese are “friendly,” but I was welcomed by Taiwanese classmates laughing at my friend’s name, Maria (瑪莉亞). At the time, I could not understand why they were mocking the name of Jesus’ mother. Later, I learned that “Maria” had become a stereotype — a shorthand for Filipino migrant workers. That was because many Filipino women in Taiwan, especially those who became house helpers, happen to have that name. With the rapidly increasing number of foreigners coming to Taiwan to work or study, more Taiwanese are interacting, socializing and forming relationships with
Whether in terms of market commonality or resource similarity, South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co is the biggest competitor of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC). The two companies have agreed to set up factories in the US and are also recipients of subsidies from the US CHIPS and Science Act, which was signed into law by former US president Joe Biden. However, changes in the market competitiveness of the two companies clearly reveal the context behind TSMC’s investments in the US. As US semiconductor giant Intel Corp has faced continuous delays developing its advanced processes, the world’s two major wafer foundries, TSMC and
We are witnessing a sea change in the government’s approach to China, from one of reasonable, low-key reluctance at rocking the boat to a collapse of pretense over and patience in Beijing’s willful intransigence. Finally, we are seeing a more common sense approach in the face of active shows of hostility from a foreign power. According to Article 2 of the 2020 Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法), a “foreign hostile force” is defined as “countries, political entities or groups that are at war with or are engaged in a military standoff with the Republic of China [ROC]. The same stipulation applies to
The recent termination of Tibetan-language broadcasts by Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) is a significant setback for Tibetans both in Tibet and across the global diaspora. The broadcasts have long served as a vital lifeline, providing uncensored news, cultural preservation and a sense of connection for a community often isolated by geopolitical realities. For Tibetans living under Chinese rule, access to independent information is severely restricted. The Chinese government tightly controls media and censors content that challenges its narrative. VOA and RFA broadcasts have been among the few sources of uncensored news available to Tibetans, offering insights
RSS