The Ministry of Health and Welfare yesterday denied a local media report that it was considering exempting people convicted of sexual harassment from penalties if they take a gender equity course and pass a test.
Asked by reporters about the issue before a meeting at the Legislative Yuan, Minister of Health and Welfare Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源) said: “There is no such thing. It is purely speculation.”
The ministry will not rule out taking legal actions against people who spread the rumor, he added.
Photo: CNA
At a separate event, Department of Protective Services Director-General Chang Hsiu-yuan (張秀鴛) said that sexual harassment prevention workers in mid-April held a two-day forum on sexual violence prevention.
During the discussion, there was a suggestion that sexual harassment perpetrators be required to take hours of counseling courses, and pass a test to correct their misconceptions about gender equity and possibly be exempted from penalties detailed in Article 27 of the Sexual Harassment Prevention Act (性騷擾防治法), Chang said.
However, participants at the forum did not reach a consensus, nor did they make any policy suggestions to the ministry, she added.
Moreover, the department issued a news release reiterating that according to Article 27, “a person who sexually harasses another person by abusing power” may be fined between NT$60,000 and NT$600,000 (US$2,003 to US$20,035) by the local competent authorities, while those who harass others in any manner other than abuse of power could be fined NT$10,000 to NT$100,000, Chang said.
Chiu was also asked to comment on a report that hospital emergency rooms are rapidly losing doctors, and that more are expected to leave if their working conditions do not improve.
The ministry has continuously been making efforts to improve the working conditions of doctors and nurses in emergency rooms, Chiu said, outlining three methods that it has adopted to address the issue.
First, hospitals reallocating hospital beds; second, regional cooperation and thoroughly implementing a hierarchy of medical care; and third, increasing National Health Insurance (NHI) payment for healthcare workers, he said.
More than NT$4 billion in NHI payment for emergency healthcare services was allocated last month, and it is to be distributed starting this month, he said, adding that the ministry hopes that emergency room healthcare workers can receive reasonable pay and a better work environment.
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