III. Gender-based Violence and Access to Justice
determination of sexual discrimination and gender-based violence, and
which authorities have the mandate to process complaints, investigate
cases, and handle appeals. The legal framework to punish the crime of
distributing sexually intimate images of adults without their consent
is woefully inadequate.10 Although the Executive Yuan proposed four
draft amendments to the laws in March 2022, the provisions remain
inadequate for the immediate blocking and removal of illegal online
content involving sexually intimate images of adults, as well as for
assisting victims in retrieving their images.11
Recommendation 4
The government should review gender-based violence-related laws
and regulations across agencies, with reference to CEDAW and its
dismiss the case. The nurse filed a petition with the MOHW, which was rejected, and then filed
an administrative lawsuit at the Taipei High Administrative Court. The Court ruled against the
MOHW and the Taipei City Government, and the Taipei City Government appealed the decision.
The authorities have different opinions on whether the Youtuber’s behavior is considered sexual
harassment or discriminatory hate speech, and whether it can be punished under the Sexual
Harassment Prevention Act.
10
Currently, criminal liability can only be pursued under offenses against privacy, dissemination
of obscene materials, and defamation. Penalties are relatively lenient, making it difficult to
achieve punitive and preventive effects. The lack of protection and assistance measures for
victims and the inability to enforce removal or stop the dissemination of content has exacerbated
discrimination against and blaming of victims by society.
11
The Executive Yuan has proposed draft amendments to the Criminal Code, the Sexual Assault
Crime Prevention Act, the Crime Victim Rights Protection Act, and the Child and Youth
Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act for the Legislative Yuan to consider. The amendments add
the offense of invading sexual privacy and producing and distributing fake sexually explicit
sexual images, specify the type of offense and corresponding criminal liability, and include
such victims in protection programs. Moreover, the draft Digital Communication Act, through
which the government originally planned to use to govern various ministries (to collaborate on
handling controversial online content), has not yet been submitted to the Executive Yuan and the
Legislative Yuan for consideration by the competent authorities as of March 2022.
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