wfn.org | New Laws On Sex Abuse to Change the Scene for Taiwan's Churches

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Taiwan Church News 2739, 23-29 August 2004
Reported by Gu Hao-jan.  Translated and Rewritten by David Alexander

According to last year's statistics, Taiwan's women suffer 13.5 cases of
criminal sexual abuse every day. Domestic violence adds another 103 daily
cases to the total.  Convictions for sexual abuse and sexual crimes rise
every
year. Not a few mass organizations and social agencies, including churches,
are calling for tougher laws and sentences.  A proposed amendment will cover
future instances such as those involving sexual abuse by clergy in the past 5
or 6 years. They will allow an abused individual to file lawsuits against
both
the abuser and the agency by which he or she is employed.
Eleven organizations are working together to promote revisions of Taiwan's
law
on prevention of sexual abuse. These include groups with longterm action in
the areas of child protection and women's safety (The Garden of Hope
Foundation, the Today's Women Foundation, the Children's Welfare Alliance),
and Ward Memorial Methodist Church on the campus of Dongwu University.
Ms Kao Feng-shian has long been active in the cause.  She is a deacon at Ward
Church. She said, "The alliance to amend the sexual violence law has two
aims:
to pass the amendment rapidly and to upgrade legal protections.  We will
lobby
for support from legislators during meetings with party caucuses in the
parliament during September. There will be public demonstrations in October
followed by publication of the results of a survey we are making in
November."
She added, "The amendment did not make it through the most recent legislative
session. But we were successful in pressing for stiffer penalties on serial
sexual abusers. That passed."
Speaking to the churches, she notes that, "the new laws expand the breadth of
agency and organization liability.  In the past the law mainly dealt with
workplaces and schools, but in the future all sorts of public organizations
will be included, including churches."
Because of this, she says that should instances like those recent ones at
independent Protestant churches happen in the future resolution will not be
limited to the abuser. The church can be sued.
Her pastor, Chen Chi-feng, says that Ms. Kao took the matter up in front of
the congregation's board a month ago. No voices were raised in opposition.
The
church has since participated in the survey.
Rev. Chen adds, "Church concern for the weak is not to be a matter of talking
without action or listening without response. Too often we just tell people
to
study the Bible and resist sin. But that has left us open to cases like those
of recent years. The church must take action so that these sorts of things
not
happen again. In the past when there was a case of sexual abuse related to a
pastor or other church employee care was taken that the news not get out. In
the future churches won't be able to control the news. We must respect and
act
according to the law of the land."

For More Information: Chen Chi-feng cheinyi@ara.seed.net.tw
		   Ward Memorial Methodist Church FAX +886 2 28832109
Taiwan Church News is published weekly in Taiwan's local languages.
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