The Executive Yuan today advanced draft amendments to delay the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse until the victim turns 20.
The amendments would give victims more time to report crimes once they have reached maturity and are aware of their rights, stipulating that the period from the date the crime was committed until the victim turns 20 would not count toward the statute of limitations.
The statute of limitations for sexual offenses is 20 years, meaning any crimes committed before 2006 cannot be prosecuted.
Photo: Liu Hsin-te, Taipei Times
The Control Yuan, legislators and civil groups have called for a constitutional judgement of the current regulations and to exclude the period before adulthood from the statute of limitations.
The proposed amendments would cover changes to Article 80 of the Criminal Code and Article 8-2 of the Enforcement Law of the Criminal Code of the Republic of China (中華民國刑法施行法).
The statute of limitations is intended to maintain legal stability and urge law enforcement agencies to fulfill their duty to prosecute, the Ministry of Justice said.
However, sexual assault crimes are inherently concealed, it said.
Moreover, if victims are not sufficiently mature, physically or psychologically, at the time of the offense, they might be unable to seek help in due time due to trauma, a lack of understanding of their legal rights or power imbalances with the perpetrator, it said.
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