The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed proposed amendments to a gender equality law that aims to protect the rights and interests of victims of sexual harassment in educational settings.
The updated Gender Equity Education Act (性別平等教育法) comes in the wake of the recent #MeToo movement in Taiwan that has been spurred by sexual misconduct allegations against figures in the political field, as well as in wider society.
The amended law stipulates that it is unlawful for educators to engage in a intimate relationship with students younger than 18.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
Although such relations are not automatically against the law if the student is an adult, the intimacy must be consensual and not established through an abuse of power.
The amendment also applies to cadets in police and military academies, students in preparatory schools and juvenile reformatory schools, as well as those doing internships.
The Ministry of Education said it would formulate guidelines to help schools better understand the revised law, as some educational institutions have complained that the specifics regarding “student-teacher relationship” are not clear enough, especially in tertiary education.
The guidelines would hopefully help schools draw up their own ethical standards, and help ensure safe and gender-friendly campuses, the ministry said in a statement.
Based on the amended law, a school cannot use its position of authority to punish victims of sexual harassment who report what happened to them, or anyone who assists in reporting or requests an investigation on someone’s behalf.
When a complaint of sexual harassment is received, the school must set up a team to look into the case, but if the accused perpetrator is the principal or a teacher, the investigation would have to be completed by an outside party to guarantee impartiality.
School principals and educators who, without justified reasons, fail in their obligation to report an incident of sexual harassment within 24 hours, or deliberately conceal such acts, would be fined between NT$30,000 and NT$150,000.
If the victim is not satisfied with the investigation results, he or she may apply to the school or other competent authorities for another investigation within 30 days after receiving the results of the initial probe.
School principals or teachers who abuse their power and sexually harass their students would not only face compensation lawsuits, but also a bill for punitive damages.
The updated act is to be promulgated on International Women’s Day on March 8 next year.
Meanwhile, cross-party negotiations on amendments to two other laws relating to gender equality — the Act of Gender Equality in Employment (性別工作平等法) and the Sexual Harassment Prevention Act (性騷擾防治法) — are not yet complete, but would be put to a vote on Monday, the last day of the legislative extraordinary session.
The Taiwan Youth Association for Democracy in a news release yesterday affirmed the amendment’s demand that gender equality committees at all government levels include student representatives.
However, local governments might have difficulties locating student representatives or lack relevant regulations, it said, suggesting that the ministry draft enforcement rules or issue official guidelines.
Ministry of Education Department of Student Affairs and Special Education Director-General Wu Lin-hui (吳林輝) said that the passage of the amendment would require that the ministry amend at least seven ancillary laws, which the ministry hopes to complete and promulgate within six months.
Regarding student representatives, Wu said that the ministry would speak with local governments to gain an understanding about their plans for establishing gender equality committees.
Wu urged the public and other concerned parties not to worry and assured them that the ministry would thoroughly discuss how such committees would be formed and how they would function during subsequent meetings.
MILITARY BOOST: The procurement was planned after Washington recommended that Taiwan increase its stock of air defense missiles, a defense official said yesterday Taiwan is planning to order an additional four PAC-3 MSE systems and up to 500 missiles in response to an increasing number of missile sites on China’s east coast, a defense official said yesterday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the proposed order would be placed using the defense procurement special budget, adding that about NT$1 trillion (US$32,88 billion) has been allocated for the budget. The proposed acquisition would include launchers, missiles, and a lower tier air and missile defense radar system, they said The procurement was planned after the US military recommended that Taiwan increase
POLITICAL AGENDA: Beijing’s cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival events are part of a ‘cultural united front’ aimed at promoting unification with Taiwan, academics said Local authorities in China have been inviting Taiwanese to participate in cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations centered around ideals of “family and nation,” a move Taiwanese academics said politicizes the holiday to promote the idea of “one family” across the Taiwan Strait. Sources said that China’s Fujian Provincial Government is organizing about 20 cross-strait-themed events in cities including Quanzhou, Nanping, Sanming and Zhangzhou. In Zhangzhou, a festival scheduled for Wednesday is to showcase Minnan-language songs and budaixi (布袋戲) glove puppetry to highlight cultural similarities between Taiwan and the region. Elsewhere, Jiangsu Province is hosting more than 10 similar celebrations in Taizhou, Changzhou, Suzhou,
COGNITIVE WARFARE: Chinese fishing boats transmitting fake identification signals are meant to test Taiwan’s responses to different kinds of perceived incursions, a report said Chinese vessels are transmitting fake signals in Taiwan’s waters as a form of cognitive warfare, testing Taipei’s responses to various types of incursions, a report by the Institute for the Study of War said on Friday. Several Chinese fishing vessels transmitted fake automatic identification system (AIS) signals in Taiwan’s waters last month, with one mimicking a Russian warship and another impersonating a Chinese law enforcement vessel, the report said. Citing data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, the report said that throughout August and last month, the Chinese fishing boat Minshiyu 06718 (閩獅漁06718) sailed through the Taiwan Strait while intermittently transmitting its own AIS
CHINESE INFILTRATION: Medical logistics is a lifeline during wartime and the reported CCP links of a major logistics company present a national security threat, an expert said The government would bolster its security check system to prevent China from infiltrating the nation’s medical cold chain, a national security official said yesterday. The official, who wished to stay anonymous, made the remarks after the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media (鏡周刊) reported that Pharma Logistics (嘉里醫藥物流) is in charge of the medical logistics of about half of the nation’s major hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The company’s parent, Kerry TJ Logistics Co (嘉里大榮物流), is associated with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the
RSS