The Taiwanese government passed several new amendments to the three gender equality laws in light of the global wave of the #MeToo movement in July last year. The three acts include the Gender Equality in Employment Act, Sexual Harassment Prevention Act, and Gender Equity Education Act. New amendments will be in effect starting Friday.
The new amendments include the addition of “abuse of power sexual harassment” and its proper punishment of up to NT$1 million (US$317 thousand) of administrative fine and up to five times of punitive damages. The additional articles also list out the jurisdiction according to the power dynamic and setting of parties involved in a case of sexual harassment. The Gender Equality in Employment Act is applied to sexual harassment cases at a workplace, while the Gender Equity Education Act is applied to cases on a campus.
CEO of The Garden of Hope Foundation Wang Yueh-hao (王玥好) and
executive secretary of Modern Women’s Foundation Wu Tzu-ying (吳姿瑩) both pointed out that while having new amendments is a good start, the new amendments of the Sexual Harassment Prevention Act’s definition of sexual harassment still fall short.
Wang argues how new regulations base the determination of a case of sexual harassment on whether or not it’s “without one’s consent” could fall short of protecting victims of abuse of power. Wu urges central and local governmental officials to establish effective communication channels to ensure victims can access legal assistance that best serves their situation. Wang said the hardest part is to make sure new laws are practicable and lawmakers continue to better related regulations.