NGOs call for more staff, support for sexual harassment cases

Taipei, March 4 (CNA) Nongovernmental organizations on Wednesday called for increased staffing and professional support to handle sexual harassment reports, ahead of the second anniversary of three gender equality amendments that took effect on International Women's Day in 2024.

At a news conference at the Legislative Yuan, Wang Yue-hao (王玥好), CEO of the Garden of Hope Foundation, said that administrative and investigative personnel, along with professional training and support systems, remain insufficient, even as reports of sexual harassment have risen significantly since amendments to the Gender Equity Education Act, the Act of Gender Equality in Employment and the Sexual Harassment Prevention Act.

Wang appeared alongside other advocacy groups, including the Taipei Women's Rescue Foundation and the Student Alliance for Gender Equality, and lawmaker Fan Yun (范雲) of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, to review the implementation of the amendments.

Wang said general sexual harassment reports rose about 45 percent between 2023 and 2024, from 2,650 to 3,839. Substantiated campus sexual harassment cases increased 8 percent, from 4,863 to 5,241 over the same period. Meanwhile, 1,577 workplace sexual harassment cases were reported in 2024, the first year such data were officially compiled.

She added that the actual number of incidents is likely higher, as some victims refrain from filing formal complaints due to fear or a lack of trust or understanding of the procedures.

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, she said, creates additional barriers to reporting and undermines the amendments' goal of strengthening protections for victims.

She also noted that certain legal criteria remain too narrow, leaving standards unclear for cross-sector or overseas cases.

Reform cannot stop at legal amendments, she said, calling for increased staffing, professional training and trauma-informed support mechanisms to better address real-world cases.

Fan thanked the NGOs for reviewing the amendments two years after their implementation and acknowledged that overseas cases require further attention.

She said the central government has issued administrative guidelines clarifying the application of the laws, but local governments may not be fully aware of them.

Fan urged competent authorities, including the Ministry of Labor, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health and Welfare, to formalize those guidelines where necessary and assess whether legislative revisions are needed based on practical experience over the past two years.

She also called on the ministries to release more comprehensive data, including breakdowns by gender, case type, penalties and industry sector.