Students slammed for trivializing McDonald's sexual assault case

Taipei, Dec. 29 (CNA) Students who made tasteless posts on social media in reference to alleged sexual assault of a teenage former employee by her McDonald's supervisor have ignited a debate over education and misogynistic online culture.

A number of Taiwanese high-school aged students, including some enrolled at prestigious schools, made provocative online comments that implied support for sexual violence against women, prompting some schools to post statements apologizing for their students' posts.

On social media platform Threads, for instance, one male student from Taipei Municipal Chien Kuo High School posted an image of classmates holding McDonald's beverages accompanied by the words: "A world without women's rights is awesome."

Other male students, including those from Tainan First Senior High School and National Hsinchu Senior High School, separately posted pictures of McDonald's purchases alongside the comment: "Day 1 of supporting McDonald's."

The posts were made in response to the high-profile case of a 17-year-old former McDonald's employee who allegedly killed herself in November after being coerced into sex by her supervisor at the fast-food company over a year-long period.

The male students' posts were largely met with scorn, with internet users posting critical comments such as "[You are] trampling on the wounds of others while thinking oneself funny."

Wu Tzu-ying (吳姿瑩), executive secretary of the civil society group Modern Women's Foundation, told CNA that the tasteless posts and the backlash against them shows that "incidents of sexual violence in the workplace need to be handled more carefully."

"The most difficult aspect of promoting gender equality education," Wu said, drawing on her experience, "is that men do not talk about the issue very much."

"The current implementation of gender equality education should be carefully reviewed," she added.

Wang Yue-hao (王玥好), CEO of the Garden of Hope Foundation, warned that students using "this kind of taunting derision" may lead companies to think that they don't need to pay attention to sexual harassment and sexual assault in the workplace as long as business remains good.

On Tuesday, McDonald's said it dismissed the employee in May following the girl's "sexual harassment" complaint in March and, on Wednesday, Taipei's Department of Labor ordered McDonald's to pay a fine of NT$1 million (US$30,535) for violating gender equality laws over its handling of the girl's complaint.

The case was also referred to prosecutors in May, Taipei police said last week.

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