BY Dana Zhang
In 2018, when Taiwanese scholars reflected on the absence of a massive #MeToo movement in Taiwan, they would not have expected that the movement would finally be ignited by a Netflix Show five years later.
The show, Wave Makers, released on April 28, primarily focuses on an opposition party’s campaign team in a presidential election but ambitiously explores various societal issues in Taiwan throughout its eight episodes. Among these issues, sexual harassment in the workplace, associated with one of the protagonists who works for the party, becomes pivotal in advancing the plot. While justice is served in the drama thanks to the party leadership and its progressive values, in real life the current ruling party of Taiwan later received a lot of praise as the drama was considered a reflection of reality. However, those who had different experiences with the party in real life could not remain silent anymore.
One month after the drama was released, a woman who had previously worked with the ruling party shared her story of being silenced after planning to file a sexual harassment complaint to her supervisor on Facebook. The post immediately went viral, encouraging others with similar experiences to speak up. The shared experiences of different women not only confirmed the reality that women still have to endure “unwanted and inappropriate” sexual advances in male-dominated industries such as politics, sports, education, and entertainment but also revealed the shortcomings of the current intervention system.
Taiwan’s government has taken pride in its progress in promoting gender equality through the enactment of three laws. The Act of Gender Equality in Employment passed in 2001, the Gender Equity Education Act passed in 2004, and the Sexual Harassment Prevention Act passed in 2005, established a complex mechanism to handle sexual harassment complaints in various settings, overseen by independent Sexual Harassment Prevention Committees consisting of individuals from different entities, including the government, non-governmental organizations, and academia. However, as many women have pointed out during this wave of #MeToo, there have been barriers preventing them from accessing this mechanism and seeking actual support. In fact, research conducted by the Ministry of Labor in 2022 demonstrated that only 20% of individuals who experienced sexual harassment at workplaces would file complaints due to a lack of trust in the mechanism and the fear of further harm.
While we celebrate the movement that prompted the government to evaluate and improve the current fragmented sexual harassment handling system, it is crucial to note that the narratives focused on sexual violence portrayed women as vulnerable victims devoid of autonomy and employed moral standards to condemn extramarital sex. Such narratives could easily be exploited to control women’s bodies and further stigmatize sex under the guise of protection, especially in a country where adultery was only decriminalized within the past year. It is also disconcerting to observe that the original call for systemic change is being overshadowed by a wave of cancel culture, fueled by social media outrage. This trend leaves little room for rational conversations and thoughtful and complex discussions, hindering the progress that can be achieved through constructive dialogue.
Drawing conclusions about any feminist movement is impossible, given the fact that it encompasses the diverse realities of women, particularly in an ongoing movement. However, I believe that the ultimate goal of feminist movements is to reclaim women’s agency over their own bodies, and no one, including the government and lawmakers, should infringe upon that right.
Relevant reports on this for further reading:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-65875474
https://www.dw.com/en/metoo-in-taiwan-exposes-a-hidden-culture-of-harassment/a-65903757