"Brokeback Mountain" inspires legislators to propose gay-friendly bill

This article was written by June Tsai and published by the Taiwan Journal on March 31, 2006. It reports that as a result of the success of "Brokeback Mountain" in Hollywood and its nationwide screening in Taiwan, legislators recently proposed an amendment to the Domestic Violence Prevention Act to include homosexuals under the protection of the law. They proposed to redefine the term "domestic" to include gay and lesbian partners.

In the existing law, the term "domestic" refers to relationships that derive from heterosexual marital relations. Specifically, it refers to "husband and wife relations, spouses and ex-spouses, parents, family members, or blood and non-blood relatives". According to the legislators, "family members" can be defined as those people who live together or who plan to live together over a long-term period. The term therefore does not explicitly exclude homosexuals, despite the fact that gay marriage is not recognized in Taiwan at present.

In other words, if the amendment is passed by the legislature, then homosexual couples will be included in the category of "family members". Police and social workers can then act under the authority of the law to protect homosexual victims of domestic abuse.

Scholars and other social commentators pointed out that the proposed amendment to the law is a step in the right direction. However, for the amended law to be really effective, the society in Taiwan as a whole has to understand and exhibit real tolerance toward homosexuals.

At present, homosexuals often feel reluctant to seek help from legal authorities when facing abuse. They know that people, including their own parents sometimes, are biased against them. One of the very few non-governmental organizations in Taiwan that openly support homosexuals is the Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association. ("Tongzhi", or "comrades" in Chinese, is a term used by homosexuals in Taiwan to refer to themselves.) The organization provides peer counselling and support networks for homosexuals in Taiwan. Since its establishment in 1998, the organization has been one of the nation's most important queer culture resource centers.

According to representatives from the Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association, unless government agencies, including those domestic violence prevention centers run by local governments and various social services organizations, are fee of discriminatory attitudes towards same-sex relations, none of the current laws and future amendments can really protect homosexuals in Taiwan. Improvements are particularly needed in the sensitivity training received by the nation's law enforcement officers, in subjects such as gender issues and homosexuality.

More importantly, representation of the organization suggested that all family-related laws in Taiwan needed to be made equally applicable to homosexuals, including those that regulate inheritance, adoption and other social welfare measures.