118.10
Analyzing Public Attitudes Towards Sexual Assualts in Taiwan
Sexual Assault
Abstract
Several laws and regulations concerning sexual assault have been passed in the last couple of decades in Taiwan. The meaning of sexual assault in the legal system has changed from offense of social morality to violation of sexual autonomy, emphasizing the importance of the consent of the involved individuals. However, the success of enforcing the reformed laws also depends on the awareness of the public about the law itself and meanings behind those stipulations. This paper utilized the data of Taiwan Social Change Survey conducted in 2011 to examine Taiwanese people’s attitude towards sexual assault and study the discrepancy between those reactions and the newly-passed laws. The statistical findings show that most respondents agree punishing husbands forcing wives to have sex and teenagers having sexual behaviors. In contrast, there are clear variations about punishments against adults involved in sexual behaviors in the nature of ambiguous consent or power relations. Among socio-demographic variables, age stands out to have consistent effects on most attitudes. However subjective variables representing individual liberalism or protectionism are more important indicators than respondents’ socio-demographic backgrounds. Taiwanese seem to uphold the ideas of “individual’s consent” and “self-responsibility” more than the complexity of the power relationships and quid pro quo conditions embedded in sexual behaviors. These reactions differ from stipulations of the law. Thus it is difficult to conclude if feminism hinders or facilitates the progress of gender equality in Taiwan. We discuss the implications of the discrepancy between laws and attitudes of ordinary people in the last part of the paper.