Legislation on sexual harassment in public spaces goes into effect

This article was written by Cecilia Fanchiang and published by the Taiwan Journal on February 17, 2006. It reports that a set of guidelines was recently unveiled by the government in Taiwan to ensure compliance with the Sexual Harassment Prevention Act, which was passed by the Legislative Yuan on February 5, 2005.

While Taiwan's Gender Equality in Employment Act and the Gender Equality in Education Act address sexual harassment in workplace and on campus, the Sexual Harassment Prevention Act provides protection for women in public places, such as shopping centers, buses and public trains. The punishment for sexual harassment would be harsh, including fines of up to US$3,000 and prison sentences of up to two years for convicted offenders.

Women are encouraged to report to the authorities if they feel that they have been sexually harassed, either verbally or physically, in a public place. Persons responsible for public places, such as restaurant owners, bus drivers and metro guards, should also inform the police if they witness cases of sexual harassment. The set of guidelines specifies the definition of sexual harassment in Taiwan, how the various levels of government can set up prevention and control measures in order to further protect women's rights, how public and private organizations should respond to cases of harassment, how the offenders should be punished, and how the privacy of the victims should be protected. More details are provided in this article.