Premier Sean Chen urged government agencies to work closely with the Executive Yuan's Department of Gender Equality to comprehensively protect girls' rights, augment their abilities and increase their social opportunities to commemorate the United Nations' first annual International Day of the Girl Child today.
The Department of Gender Equality's objectives, which the premier called on other relevant agencies to pursue as well, include:
- Reducing the gender imbalance among newborns
- Promulgating gender equality through parenting and family education
- Empowering girls to unleash their potential and participate in sports
- Protecting girls from violence
- Educating girls about health and body image to counter the objectification and commercialization of women and girls in the media
The premier noted the UN last year called for member states to make a greater effort to address the disadvantages facing female children worldwide and empower girls, and assure they receive adequate rights and protection. It also declared October 11 the International Day of the Girl Child. The Legislative Yuan later approved a proposal to designate October 11 Girls' Day.
Statistics show that girls account for 47.8 percent of the population aged 18 and under, and the distribution of family care, education and healthcare between genders is by and large similar to that in other age brackets. However, girls are considerably disadvantaged in terms of personal safety: a disproportionately high number of juvenile victims of violence is female, and compared to a normal newborn gender ratio of 105-106 males for every 100 females, Taiwan's figure was 107.9:100 in 2011 and even reached 113.4:100 for families with three or more children. These facts indicate Taiwanese girls must receive greater protection, Chen said.