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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》Panel urges action on women’s rights
Members of the National Human Rights Commission Kao Yung-cheng, left, and Chi Hui-jung, right, welcome members of the Review Committee of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women in Taipei yesterday. Photo courtesy of the National Human Rights Commission
UN GOALS: The review covered how to teach the history of ‘comfort women’ and the rights of migrant domestic workers, and addressed the high teenage abortion rate
By Liu Tzu-hsuan / Staff writer, with CNA
The Legislative Yuan should establish a standing committee and enact a comprehensive anti-discrimination law, an international committee reviewing Taiwan’s efforts to promote women’s rights said yesterday.
The Executive Yuan at a news conference invited five experts to present suggestions on Taiwan’s fourth country report for the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women （CEDAW）.
Executive Yuan spokesman Lo Ping-cheng （羅秉成）, who also serves as executive secretary of the Cabinet’s Gender Equality Committee, received the review on behalf of the government.
Among its 86 comments and suggestions, the committee said that Taiwan did not assess the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on women.
The review covered topics including education about the history of “comfort women,” equality of female immigrants, childcare services and rights of migrant household workers.
It also said the number of teenagers seeking abortions is high, at 50,000 to 60,000 per year.
Women continue to experience discrimination and various kinds of sexual and gender violence in areas that are not covered by legislation, it said, adding that the government should enact a comprehensive law on gender equality.
South Korean sociologist Shin Hei-soo, one of the committee members, said that the National Human Rights Commission should not only be a bridge between the government and the public on gender issues, but also a gatekeeper able to criticize the government.
Moreover, the Executive Yuan should make rolling adjustments to its national human rights action plan and evaluate whether it complies with CEDAW and gender equality norms, she added.
As the world experiences growing effects of climate change, Taiwan should formulate mitigation and adaptation plans that incorporate a gender equality perspective, she said.
Lo thanked the committee for its recommendations, and said that Taiwan would strive to meet international standards on gender equality.
Government agencies must organize, review and reply to the suggestions, and propose strategies and goals accordingly, he said, adding that the implementations would be reviewed again in two years.
Outside of the news conference, several civic groups yesterday put forward 13 of their own suggestions on the country report.
The government should ensure medical equality for women with disabilities, and include women’s groups in discussions of climate change adaptation and disaster prevention policies, they said.
Laws should be amended to prevent the spread of intimate sexual images, and further protect victims of sexual assault and domestic violence, while judicial personnel who handle such cases should have better awareness of gender equality matters, the groups said.
Transgender women should be included in the CEDAW, they said, adding that the government should deliberate the introduction of third-gender certifications to break gender stereotypes.
Regarding marriage equality, the government should amend regulations on adoption and artificial reproduction for same-sex couples, as well as transnational same-sex marriage, as soon as possible, they said.
Taiwan Disabled Women’s Alliance for Equal Rights chairperson Chou Chian-ju （周倩如） said that the government should provide more medical resources for disabled women, such as providing medical personnel with training in taking care of disabled people.
Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation CEO Tu Ying-chiu （杜瑛秋） said that comfort women were victims of sexual assault and their history should be kept by the Academia Historica and incuded in national curricula.
Covenants Watch CEO Huang Yi-bee （黃怡碧） said that before a comprehensive anti-discrimination law is enacted, gender-related laws should be amended to clearly define types of discrimination.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
