Independent Opinion of CEDAW agencies to implement CEDAW.
3. Since the initial CEDAW Report was submitted in 2009, there have been three international reviews, with active participation by governmental and non-governmental organizations. In the past four years, there has been considerable progress in women’s rights and gender equality, such as Taiwan becoming the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage (2019); women’s parliamentary representation surpassing 40 percent (2020); the repeal of the crime of adultery in the Criminal Code; and the passage of the Stalking and Harassment Prevention Act (2021). However, the NHRC found that in the past four years, there are still cases of failure or stagnation in the implementation of CEDAW: • Access to justice for women victims of violence is not fully guaranteed • Women’s work-family life balance remains difficult to reach • Legal protection of the rights of migrant domestic workers is insufficient • Women in disadvantaged groups still do not have equal rights to marriage and family • Women’s sexual and reproductive health rights in rural areas are not protected, and their right to political participation is not yet equally respected • Insufficient data from gender surveys of women from disadvantaged groups hinders comprehensive analysis of COVID-19 impact and post-COVID recovery plans 4. The NHRC expects that this Independent Opinion will be useful to the ¯4¯