The Cabinet today passed draft revisions to the Gender Equity Education Act formulated by the Ministry of Education (MOE) to address sexual assault and sexual harassment at schools. This partial amendment will now go to the Legislative Yuan for review.
MOE officials said that to meet actual needs at educational outlets, the proposed amendments provide an opportunity for reform to perpetrators of campus sexual assault, sexual harassment or sexual bullying. At the same time, some staff responsible for academics, research, education internships or school affairs who have engaged in such offenses will be prevented from serving at schools, where they might pose a threat to campus security.
The proposed changes further direct schools and educational institutions to organize investigation task forces based on the actual nature of inquiries into cases of campus sexual assault, sexual harassment or sexual bullying. Task force members should be selected to ensure proportional gender representation and investigatory expertise. The draft language also makes clear that task forces may be composed wholly or in part of members brought in from outside the school itself.