Nearly three weeks have passed since the Facebook post that launched Taiwan’s current #MeToo reckoning, and it is showing no signs of slowing down. New accusations, consequences and promises of reform have been filling the news media daily, spreading to every sector. This #MeToo wave seems poised to influence real change as the people coming forward with their stories emboldens more to follow, creating more momentum than any movement before it. Yet, reaching that anticipated outcome would require honest introspection and focus to avoid the trap of entropy.
Part of this wave’s success has been the common focus and language provided by the Netflix show Wave Makers (人選之人), which premiered in April. The start of the instigating post on May 31 by a former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) staffer quoted the series before continuing to accuse a party leader of sweeping her sexual harassment complaint under the rug, similar to how the fictionalized characters faced pressure from above to ignore a groping incident. The accuser and others after her have taken up the show’s rallying cry to “not just let this go,” lending not only the common language necessary for a movement to gain traction, but also the conviction that their experiences deserve attention.
It is also no surprise that the movement began with politics. With a pivotal election looming, political parties have been eager to accuse each other of wrongdoing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party were quick to accuse the DPP of mishandling the mentioned case, only to face their own accusations days later. Despite their best attempts at moral grandstanding, the public seems unhappy to let politicians cash in on victims’ pain for political currency. The movement has outgrown their mudslinging as it envelops all sectors, sweeping through the arts, business and education, proving that sexual harassment has always been there and has always been a problem — the only difference is that the victims are no longer “letting it go.”
As they come face-to-face with sexual harassment’s realities, more people are being forced to rethink what constitutes impropriety and how to best handle incidents. Many accusations have involved being forced into awkward one-on-one situations with a superior and unwanted touching — actions that would previously have been explained away as being “overly friendly,” but are now being recognized for what they are.
At the same time, the stories have exposed how ill-prepared many organizations are to respond to such allegations. A superior ignoring and minimizing a complaint is obviously wrong and should be condemned, but a complaint that has been mishandled by someone with the best of intentions can also cause secondary harm. As difficult as it is to file a complaint in the first place, it can be even more difficult to be given the burden of proof, relive trauma and face vitriol from supporters of the accused. The responsibility is on organizations to standardize procedures for responding to such accusations that facilitate coming forward and reducing harm to victims. No sector of society is immune, meaning every organization must consider how it should respond.
As the pressure mounts, politicians have been pressed to do more than apologize. The legislature is to convene a provisional session next month to discuss legal changes that better define what constitutes sexual harassment, improve reporting mechanism and address employers’ responsibility. While certainly necessary, the law is only one aspect of the solution. As the problem affects everyone in one way or another, everyone has a role to play in responding, whether that involves drafting new procedures, viewing the past in a new light or keeping up the pressure to ensure that the #MeToo reckoning would continue beyond next year’s presidential election.
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