I. Introduction
In response to the frequent social sexual harassment cases and the “Me Too” movement, the Executive Yuan passed amendments to three statutes on July 13, 2023: the Sexual Harassment Prevention Act, the Gender Equality in Employment Act (renamed the Gender Equality Employment Act), and the Gender Equality Education Act. The goal of the amendments is to strengthen “effective” measures against perpetrators, fully ensure “friendly” victim rights, and establish a “trustworthy” prevention system.
II. Key Points of the Amendments
Strengthening “Effective” Penalties and Sanctions against Perpetrators
- Add a category for power‑based sexual harassment, clearly distinguishing between general and special power‑based harassment
- Clearly define jurisdiction of the three laws: campuses primarily apply the Gender Equality Act, workplaces apply the Employment Act, and other cases are handled by the Social Sexual Harassment Act
- Expand the scope to include the military, police, academic institutions, and correctional schools
- Tiered penalties: civil punitive damages up to 5 times the amount, administrative fines ranging from 1 to 1,000,000 NT$, maximum fine for general harassment 100,000 NT$, for power‑based harassment 600,000 NT$; criminal penalties increased by one‑half
- Strengthen external complaint supervision mechanisms
Completing “Friendly” Victim Rights Protection and Services
- Incorporate protection and assistance into law, allocate budget to increase measures for victims
- Improve confidentiality provisions, prohibiting disclosure of sufficient information that could identify victims
- Extend the filing period: general harassment 2 years (within 5 years from the incident); power‑based harassment 3 years (within 7 years from the incident); minor harassment can be filed within 3 years after reaching adulthood; employer harassment can be filed within 1 year after termination
Establishing a “Trustworthy” Professional Sexual Harassment Prevention System
- Add temporary measures for the highest responsible person in serious cases, such as suspension or reassignment
- Create a talent database for Gender Equality Committee members and train investigators with gender equality awareness
- Introduce resources from civil organizations to assist investigations
