Taiwan has launched its first-ever study of institutional sexual assault cases against children and teens, with the aim of tackling the issue more effectively and reducing such crimes, Control Yuan President Chen Chu (陳菊) said yesterday.
“To understand the structural factors of the problem, the National Human Rights Commission of the Control Yuan has begun a campaign to discover the reasons for these offenses,” Chen said at a news conference alongside Control Yuan members Chang Chu-fang (張菊芳) and Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇).
Police reported 7,787 sexual assault cases last year, with 4,520 involving victims younger than 18, Chen said, citing Ministry of Health and Welfare statistics.
Photo: CNA
A national report showed that 233 children and young adults in 2020 were sexually abused or attacked at elementary or high schools in Taiwan, she said.
The commission is exploring the problem through written and oral interviews, she said.
“We must find out the circumstances in which these assaults occurred so that we can understand what is wrong in our systems, and not stop at investigating individual cases,” she said.
Tien called child and juvenile victims of sexual abuse “survivors” and said she knows it is not easy for them to speak about their experiences.
The commission plans to interview 500 victims of sexual abuse at halfway houses or schools — 100 in-person and 400 through written and telephone interviews, Chen said.
Interviews are to involve child and juvenile victims, along with adults who experienced a sexual assault as a child or teenager, with the investigation to conclude in July next year, Chang said.
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