Three cases in which Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) officials were either found to have mishandled sexual harassment complaints or have been accused of direct involvement in such misconduct would be sent to its sexual harassment prevention committee for possible sanctions, the party said on Friday.
The decision was made after investigations into the cases were concluded, it said.
One investigation determined that former DPP Department of Youth Development head Tsai Mu-lin (蔡沐霖) tried to cover up a sexual harassment case and engaged in workplace bullying, causing a female DPP worker, Chen Wen-hsuan (陳汶軒), to leave the party, DPP Deputy Secretary-General Yang Yi-shan (楊懿珊) told a news conference.
Photo: Taipei Times file
Chen accused a department colleague, Chen Yu-hao (陳右豪), of inappropriate touching, including forcible kissing and touching her buttocks, in 2020.
Chen Yu-hao was suspended from his position as a reporter at a local Chinese-language media company after the allegations were reported.
Tsai’s mishandling of the case caused Chen Wen-hsuan to leave the DPP, Yang said.
Besides being sent to the sexual harassment prevention committee, the case would also be referred to the DPP’s New Taipei City Chapter evaluation committee to determine if there should be any further sanctions, she said.
The way in which former DPP Department of Youth Development head Wu Jun-yen (吳濬彥) handled a separate harassment case filed by another former DPP staffer was also inappropriate, DPP Department of Gender Equality head Lee Yen-jong (李晏榕) said, adding that it resulted in a state of mutual hostility between the accuser and accused.
The case involved a female staffer who accused a media personality working with the DPP of harassment by persistently asking her to go on a date despite repeated rejections, Lee said.
She attributed Wu’s indifference to the case to a lack of proper training in how to handle such incidents and said the case would be referred to the party’s sexual harassment prevention committee to determine whether any sanctions should be imposed.
A third case involved a complaint by a female staffer filed against former DPP Organization Department deputy head Lin Nan-ku (林男固) accusing him of writing her amorous letters and texting her at midnight several years ago.
DPP officials addressed the case at the time, but did not inform either of the people involved what measures, if any, were taken, Lee said.
Officials failed to resolve the problem, she said, attributing their inaction to a lack of awareness about how to handle complaints of that nature.
The case would also be reviewed by the sexual harassment prevention committee, she added.
Internal investigations had determined that all of the accusers had told the truth, DPP officials said.
Yang apologized for failing to provide adequate guidance on how to make the DPP headquarters “a friendly workplace” and vowed to stand by any former staffer who seeks legal redress against alleged perpetrators.
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