Several women’s groups yesterday issued a joint statement urging news organizations to avoid revealing personal information about minors in their reporting of sexual assault cases, saying that it could cause further damage to the victims.
The groups called on the news media to exercise self-discipline and to review whether personal information about minors was being revealed in the coverage of such incidents.
Members of the public should also avoid relaying or sharing information that might affect victims, they said.
The statement was signed by the Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation, the Taiwan Coalition Against Violence, the National Alliance of Taiwan Women’s Associations, the Lan-Shin Women and Children Service Center, Warm Life, and the New Taipei City Parent Volunteer Education and Growth Association.
They said that their calls were in response to recent media reports and online discussion about a case of sexual assault involving a victim who was a minor at the time of the offense.
Court proceedings have begun and the victim has been provided with help from social workers and other resources, the groups said.
They asked media outlets to reduce coverage of the case, and not to prolong the reporting to avoid putting more pressure on the victim and causing more harm.
The case has been going on for quite some time, the groups said, adding that some media outlets have failed to completely conceal the physical appearance of the parties involved or their relatives, allowing people to guess at or determine their identities.
According to the Sexual Assault Crime Prevention Act (性侵害犯罪防治法), various forms of media — including promotional materials, publications, broadcasts, television channels and Internet outlets — must not report or publish the names of sexual assault victims or any other personally identifiable information about them, the groups said.
However, the restriction does not apply if consent has been given by a competent victim or if, in accordance with the law, the prosecutor or court finds it necessary to disclose such information, they added.
The groups also cited the Protection of Children and Youths Welfare and Rights Act (兒童及少年福利與權益保障法), which includes a provision protecting certain groups of children and young people with regards to the publication of their names or any other personally identifiable information by various media.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “(we) appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
ON PAROLE: The 73-year-old suspect has a criminal record of rape committed when he was serving in the military, as well as robbery and theft, police said The Kaohsiung District Court yesterday approved the detention of a 73-year-old man for allegedly murdering three women. The suspect, surnamed Chang (張), was arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with the death of a 71-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙). The Kaohsiung City Police Department yesterday also unveiled the identities of two other possible victims in the serial killing case, a 75-year-old woman surnamed Huang (黃), the suspect’s sister-in-law, and a 75-year-old woman surnamed Chang (張), who is not related to the suspect. The case came to light when Chao disappeared after taking the suspect back to his residence on Sunday. Police, upon reviewing CCTV
TRUMP ERA: The change has sparked speculation on whether it was related to the new US president’s plan to dismiss more than 1,000 Joe Biden-era appointees The US government has declined to comment on a post that indicated the departure of Laura Rosenberger as chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Neither the US Department of State nor the AIT has responded to the Central News Agency’s questions on the matter, after Rosenberger was listed as a former chair on the AIT’s official Web site, with her tenure marked as 2023 to this year. US officials have said previously that they usually do not comment on personnel changes within the government. Rosenberger was appointed head of the AIT in 2023, during the administration of former US president Joe