Although reports of sexual harassment have increased since gender equality laws were amended two years ago, there are still gaps in the system and institutional support should be increased to ensure no one is left behind, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Fan Yun (范雲) said yesterday.
Fan held a news conference at the Legislative Yuan with the Garden of Hope Foundation, Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation and the Student Alliance for Gender Equality, offering suggestions to improve institutional support and calling for further amendments.
The amendments were meant to increase protections, not make the process more complicated, Garden of Hope Foundation CEO Wang Yue-hao (王玥好) said.
Photo: Chen Chih-cheng, Taipei Times
The number of sexual harassment complaints has increased significantly over the past two years, with general sexual harassment cases rising from 2,650 in 2023 to 3,839 in 2024 — up about 45 percent, Wang said.
Confirmed cases of campus sexual harassment rose 8 percent from 4,863 to 5,241, she said.
There were 1,577 reports of workplace sexual harassment in the year the relevant legislation took effect, she added.
However, many victims do not file complaints out of fear, distrust of the system or a lack of clarity about reporting channels, so the actual number of incidents is far higher, Wang said.
Since the amendments, the surge in cases has strained administrative and investigative resources, while training and support systems remain insufficient, she said.
Wang said overlapping provisions in relevant laws and unclear divisions of responsibility among competent authorities often force victims to repeatedly verify the legal grounds for their complaints and determine the appropriate contact point.
This creates additional barriers to reporting and undermines the amendments’ goal of strengthening protections for victim, she said.
Certain legal criteria remain too narrow, leaving standards unclear for cross-sector or overseas cases, she added.
Institutional reform cannot rely solely on legislation; it must also ensure adequate staffing, professional training and trauma-informed support to truly protect victims, Wang said.
Fan thanked women’s groups for continuing to review areas that still require adjustment.
Although authorities have issued directives on the new regulations, local might not be fully informed, Fan said.
The Ministry of Labor, the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Education should review existing regulations based on the past two years to see what adjustments are needed, she said.
They should also release more comprehensive data, including breakdowns by gender, case type, penalties and industry, she added.
The amendments are designed to support victims, but there are still gaps in the law, Fan said.
Taiwan should not only have laws in place, but those laws should be properly applied by local governments to ensure no one is left behind, she added.
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