To be free from fear is a basic human need and is usually used to indicate the level of human rights in a society. In Taiwan, the status of women has been improving in the last thirty years; however, violence against women still threatens most women. Violence exists not only in public, but also in the private sphere.
Women advocacy group has recently called attention to the number of sexual assaults being committed in the country.
Grim statistics shows
1. An average of 18.1 sexual assaults per day was reported last year.
2. As many as 40,000 to 60,000 sexual abuses could have taken place last year.
3. 6,601 reports of sexual assault or 3,251 cases had been reported to the police.
4. 10 years’ worth of statistics showed that 60% of sexual assault victims were underage.
5. More than 10,000 babies per year are born to women under the age of 18 in Taiwan and over half of all reported sexual abuse cases involve girls between the age of 12 and 17.
Existing system can’t protect the basic human rights of the victims. Since judges are reluctant to get involved in the business in the private sphere, there are few chances to sentence the abusers. Usually they are fined a small amount.
The legal system is not strong enough to correct the unequal relationship between abusers and their partners. There is no ‘protection order’, which can protect the victim from her attacker. To provide equal protection under the law, the legal system needs much reform.
Bottom line
Although, a number of regulations concerning the safety of women and children have been introduced recently in Taiwan. But there remain problems as far as evidence gathering for medical and forensic purposes is concerned, giving rise to continuing difficulties in enforcing the regulations.
Compared to other countries, the quality of public safety in Taiwan is not so horrible but more women than men are victims and the percentage is escalating. The contemporary situation of sexual assault is flourishing because of a low reporting rate, a low conviction rate and a high repeat offender rate.
