The New Power Party (NPP) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday unveiled their respective versions of amendments to gender equality and anti-harassment laws, demanding extensions for statute of limitations and establishing sexual harassment prevention centers.
The NPP demanded that the amendments be passed during next week’s extraordinary session.
A recent slew of sexual harassment cases shows that the existing laws are insufficient to help the victims, NPP Legislator Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智) said.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
The Executive Yuan’s proposal, unveiled on Thursday, focused on punishing the aggressor, but the amendments should seek more protection for victims, he said.
Chiu said that the Legislative Yuan should adopt the party’s proposal, which would expand the applicability of the Act of Gender Equality in Employment (性別平等工作法) to events after work, and include both colleagues and other individuals.
The amendments should expand the definition of sexual harassment and extend the statute of limitations on sexual harassment of minors, he said.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
NPP Chairwoman Claire Wang (王婉諭), citing Australian legal reports, said that, on average, victims of sexual harassment of minors need 23.9 years to speak up, which exceeds the current statute of limitations of 20 years.
To protect victims’ rights fully, the statute of limitations should begin after a victim reaches the age of majority or when they could participate in investigations and trials regarding the incident, the NPP said.
The NPP’s version of amendments demand that sexual harassment investigations at corporations include third-party individuals and a proportional number of female and gender equality experts as investigators, NPP Legislator Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華) said.
The caucus’ amendments include a legal basis for companies to handle sexual harassment issues confidentially, and the NPP urges the government to publicize information on punitive measures to deter harassers, Chen said.
Separately, the TPP caucus said its proposed version would simplify procedures for filing a harassment lawsuit, extend the statute of limitations and increase fines for sexual harassment.
The TPP caucus also urged local governments to establish local sexual harassment prevention centers to provide victims with legal assistance and mental health support.
Legal measures and administrative policies help foster a friendly work environment, TPP caucus convener Lai Hsiang-ling (賴香伶) said.
The TPP proposal also demands that all agencies inform their employees of the sexual harassment prevention policies and make the procedure an item for labor inspections, as it urges more transparency on gender equality policies, Lai said.
In related news, the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on Wednesday said it is investigating sexual misconduct allegations against veteran television host Mickey Huang (黃子佼) after receiving a complaint.
The case has already been handed over to prosecutor Lin Hsiu-tsung (林岫璁), an expert in women’s and children’s protection cases and drug-related crimes, the office said.
Huang was accused on June 19 of sexual misconduct by a woman named Zofia, who said Huang committed acts of sexual misconduct against her over a decade ago when she was 17 years old — she later said 20 — and a student.
In a Facebook post, Zofia said Huang forcibly kissed her in his car without her consent and invited her to a Taichung hotel, where Huang allegedly asked her to pose half naked for an “artistic” photo, as he wanted to organize an exhibition.
In response, 51-year-old Huang released a video on Facebook the same day apologizing for his behavior.
As the alleged misconduct occurred in Taichung, the Taichung District Prosecutors’ Office is also looking into the case.
Zofia later posted again on Facebook saying she was actually 20 years old when Huang asked her to pose for a naked photo.
If that were the case, Zofia would not have been a minor when the incident took place.
The Taichung office said it would continue to collect evidence related to the case, regardless of whether the accuser sues Huang.
Additional reporting by CNA
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