It’s worth mentioning what those numbers are for those without Excel. The central government’s National Police Administration says that in 2001 there were 2,125 cases of “forcible rape” (as opposed to statutory rape, most likely) that were “known to the police.”
That is 35 times less than the other figure (source???) given. While the actual number of rapes is doubtless considerably higher than those officially reported, count me among those who view this legislator with a great deal of suspicion.
To the best of my knowledge, “cleared” does not mean the accused are cleared of charges of wrongdoing but refers instead to cases the police regard as resolved.
Taiwan has a long way to go in viewing the crime of rape with the seriousness it deserves. I don’t think the legislator’s proposal is part of the solution.
Here’s something from the U.S. State Department’s 2001 report on human rights practices in Taiwan.
Some of the numbers seem a bit odd, given that sexual assault is included. Also, worth mentioning is that prisoners come up for parole after serving one-third (?) of their sentence.
There was another case on the chinese news a few days ago. A father sexually abused his two little daughters.
The wife found out about it because of the signs of blood and now she is trying to take him to court. I couldn’t get everything that was going on. But, apparently, since there was no intercouse (I really don’t want to get into the disgusting details on this) and the girls did not react to what he did they could not prosecute him.
A friend of mine once told me: ‘Summertime arrives, if it weighs more than 30kg and has a shadow, they’ll rape it!’
She knew what she was talking about, believe me. She was a social worker who assisted victims of sexual abuse back in Brazil. And I think she was being optimistic.
Interesting, are there any other woman in this thread?
Well, I guess we just don’t talk about it…, do we?
Was this in Taiwan? How old were these little girls (not that it matters–it’s still terrible)?
And how could there have been no intercourse if the mother found sounds of blood? If there was blood then were was some kind of penetration to cause it.
And they’re not going to prosecute because the girls didn’t react? WTF is that supposed to mean? What counts as a reaction? Crying? Trying to push off someone who is 3 or 4 times bigger/heavier than you?
I’m a victim of child rape and molestation myself so I am easily worked up on this topic.
There are lots of reasons kids might not “react”–too many to go into here but the biggest reason would be FEAR.
I did a high school term paper on child molestation and found that 1 in 4 girls is molested, and it was 1 in 9 boys. That was over 13 years ago, so just think how much higher those numbers must be today.
So what’s going to happen to that family? Did they say if the girls are going through counseling? Mother leave the father? If not, then the girls should be removed from the home. How come these stories (like the one about the boy who was beaten by his stepfather and died three days later) don’t make it into the English newspapers? Not interesting enough for the English-speaking community? I’d rather know more about how the government is going after these people and how they’re going to educate children about protecting themselves than what’s for brunch at the Regent.
Hi, Jennifer.
I’m really sorry about what happened to you and one of the reasons why I posted my reply is the absence of other women commenting on this subject, which reflects what is going on out there.
It is very hard for us not to get too personal on this subject.
I think there are 2 issues here.
One, this sort of cases have been on the Chinese news almost every other day lately, some cases are even worse. (This must be one of the reasons why the legislator Shen is using this moment to propose the chemical castration). I do understand why the English press doesn’t print these kind of news. It IS depressive to see these sort of news on the TV everyday and how the media in Taiwan handle these cases. (But this should be discussion for another topic). On the other hand, that doesn’t mean people shouldn’t know they exist it and deal with it.
Another issue is the lack of legislation and lack of specialized help for victims. In Brazil we have a special ‘female’ precinct or as, we call, “women’s police station” which also have a ‘Home’ for victims of sexual or physical abuse, if they need a place to stay. (No, our police is not all made of corrupt cops who kill street kids.)
Alien, I think the HRC report is absolutely right. You can imagine, if you’re a woman in Taiwan and had to go into a 100% male police station and explain this happened. Sometimes, facing a bunch of nosy reporters. Then, go to a Judge to be questioned all over again. How many of us would actually do it?
(About that case, I think the girls were about 3 and 6 and apparently he used the finger to penetrate. I’m not sure, just saw part of the news while I was visiting my Grandma. But I also would like to know what happened with the girls, and this s… of father they have. I don’t think chemical castration would have helped in this case)
Don’t know about the numbers, though. One wonders if it would be less important if there were ‘just’ 264 rape cases per year. 1 person raped per day.
Thanks for taking the time to reply. I guess if it’s so important to me I should make a commitment to learning Chinese. On one hand, I want to know about cases like these because whether we’re here for a couple of years or long term, I think we’re ALL responsible for what happens to children. The saying “it takes a village…” comes to mind and I really believe that. On the other hand, it is so depressing, sometimes it’s easier to just not read the papers or watch the news at all.
