Taiwan Today

Taiwan’s Legislature passed an amendment to the Gender Equity Education Act June 7 giving school personnel greater responsibility for preventing sexual harassment and introducing regulations to check sexual bullying. School employees may be deprived of their jobs or credentials if their failure to report sexual harassment or bullying leads to the repetition of such cases, according to the revised law. They could be fined between NT$30,000 (US$1,044) and NT$150,000 if they fail to report alleged acts of sexual assault, harassment or bullying in the first instances, or if they try to cover up cases by faking, destroying or concealing evidence. School personnel, including principals, teachers and other staff are required to report suspected acts of sexual assault, harassment or bullying to school authorities and to the sexual assault prevention center of their city or county government within 24 hours of learning of the allegations. To prevent sexual bullying, the amendment also clearly defines it as the use of language or other behavior that denigrates, attacks or threatens others by targeting their gender, sexual characteristics, sexual inclination or identity, but falls short of actual harassment. “In the past the distinction between sexual bullying and harassment was not clear, and the amendment rectifies the situation,” said Eric Ker, section chief in the Ministry of Education’s Students Affairs Committee. “However, not all sexually discriminatory language toward peers counts as sexual bullying. Bullying will be reported when a student has been made to feel uncomfortable or insulted and asks a teacher to deal with the incident.” The amendment also stipulates that school authorities must respect students’ sexual identity, and may not use it as an excuse for refusing to admit students. They should also provide support for pregnant students. Students who have sexually bullied their classmates will be required to undergo counseling, eight hours of gender equality education or other educational measures. Elementary and secondary school students could be required to transfer to another school, while university students could be expelled. The Legislature also passed a resolution prohibiting schools from punishing students for hairstyles or clothing that do not conform to stereotypical gender norms. (THN)