This story reminds me of the recent news story (http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/2010/03/29/250...) about the Legislative Yuan’s deliberations on whether or not to add more teeth to Taiwan’s sexual harassment laws (Law Proposed to Bar Sex Suspects From School Posts) While protecting the safety of those who allege they have been sexually harassed or assaulted, the rights of the accused must not be trampled on and ignored either. This is a HUGE problem with Taiwan's current Gender Equity in Education Law and the proposed legislative amendment.
What particularly ruffled me was reading that some legislators and other supporters of the proposed amendment are calling for harsh punishment of those merely ACCUSED of sexual harassment, effectively saying one is automatically guilty before being proven innocent! Not only is such proposed legislation a violation of legal and human rights, but it will also exacerbate the myriad problems with the already woefully inadequate Gender Equity in Education Act. The GE in Education Act infamously lacks appropriate legal protections for the accused, requires no credible evidence to prove an accusation, and most notoriously employs an opaque and very flawed investigation and decision process conducted in total secrecy by the accusers - the equivalent of letting the sheep be judge and jury for the wolf accused of killing one of their own.
What kind of justice in a purported democracy is this? What Rule of Law does this follow? What regard for legal and human rights does this show?
Taiwan’s laws & regulations concerning sexual harassment & abuse have gone from one extreme to the other in a short time: from a lack of protection and justice for victims to virtually no protection for those accused. In particular, the accused who are innocent have become the new victims of Taiwan’s evolving sex harassment laws.
Before going any further with overzealous efforts to right the the wrongs of the past, first the legislature needs to revise the current Gender Equity in Education Act to give proper legal protection to those accused of sex harassment or abuse so that no more innocent educators become unwary scapegoats or victims of ill-intentioned administrators, colleagues or students. The legal and human rights of those accused must be respected and protected the same as those of the accuser.
If legislators are so anxious to put teachers out for slaughter with this amendment, then I suggest they include themselves in another bill so that any lawmaker, government official, civil servant, etc who is merely accused of sexual harassment will also be removed from their position and be prohibited from working in any other government office so as not to inflict harm on any other person
Or, legislators can do the right thing and amend the GE in Education Act so that ALL ACCUSED are afforded legal protections and opportunities to defend themselves in a NEUTRAL court of law or other, accusers must provide sufficient evidence to prove their claims as is required for all other criminal offenses in Taiwan, and only those who are actually found guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt” be prohibited from teaching.
Let’s see Taiwan’s lawmakers fulfill their commitments to uphold the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which were ratified by the Legislative Yuan just one year ago.