Gender News in Taiwan
2015.05.29
Women's Groups Call for Action Against Press Misogyny

【By Yuan-Ming Chiao】

Numerous women's advocacy groups yesterday in Taipei took a unified stance in criticizing the local Chinese-language Liberty Times for its misogynistic remarks published recently against women, including veteran former news anchor Vicky Yen-Chiu Lee. The action comes in response to the commentary of several local papers on Wednesday criticizing those social groups for not coming to Lee's defense earlier.

The Liberty Times has since issued a public apology for its actions. The Times recently published an online post with an abusive headline directed at the physical characteristics of a female news anchor. Lee subsequently stepped into the debate for which she was also rebuked in a sexist manner by the same news organization.

In a statement made to the press by the Taiwan Coalition Against Violence (TCAV), the organization demanded that the print media step up its control mechanisms over reporting quality and institute a system to penalize offenders. It also urged law enforcement agencies to establish policy mechanisms to prevent the objectification of women in the media, while calling on local authorities to administer existing anti-sexual harassment regulations in response to incidents of gender inequality in the news. It also criticized the Times' apology as "insincere," adding that the paper needs to create an independent commission to address reporting content in the future.

The TCAV, made up of around 30 nongovernmental organizations in Taiwan, also called for the boycott of the Liberty Times in addition to fines to be levied against it in accordance with domestic sexual harassment prevention laws. The alliance noted additionally that aside from the incident involving Lee this month, other sexist remarks in the print media included two reports taking place in March and April of this year which involved the portrayal of women as the sexual conquests of a retired Marine veteran.

Former Council of Labor Affairs Minister Wang Ju-hsuan, the current president of the Sino-Social Welfare Association said that the government could not stand on the sidelines, as the Times' actions had already violated existing laws. Wang added that the Alliance would bring its case to the Executive Yuan's Committee on Gender Equality.

In response to yesterday's events, Taipei City's Department of Social Welfare stated that victims of sexual harassment through news reporting can bring up a case against offenders within a year of the incident in accordance with the Sexual Harassment Prevention Act.

[China Post, 2015-05-29]

  Gender News
in Taiwan
Capacity
Building
Women’s Rights in Taiwan Historical Reporting Cycles Current Reporting Cycle Videos  
  International Training Workshop on the Implementation of CEDAW The International Conference on the CEDAW Mechanism CEDAW Alternative Report Workshop Overview Ratification of International Human Rights Treaties Enforcement Act of CEDAW Historical Reporting Cycles Initial Country and NGO Reports