Increased action required for addressing domestic violence issues
Taiwan is grappling with improving its approach to domestic abuse cases, as evidenced by a series of incidents where perpetrators, despite having a history of violence and being under court-issued restraining orders, went on to assault their victims in public spaces.
One such incident occurred at Taiwan Railway Corp's Fongyuan Station on July 24, involving a perpetrator named Huang. The Domestic Violence Prevention Act, enacted to provide for restraining orders, requires corresponding tracking and enforcement mechanisms, including police monitoring, visits from social workers, and digital surveillance. However, in practice, these safeguards are often hampered by labor shortages and bureaucratic delays, making timely intervention or enforcement impossible.
The incidents are not isolated, indicating systemic issues in Taiwan's approach to domestic abuse. To address these challenges, Taiwan can learn from reforms suggested in other countries like South Korea.
Proactive measures that Taiwan could adopt include:
- Empowering police to directly request court-issued protection measures without prosecutor approval, preventing delays if prosecutors reject requests, as seen in South Korea’s reform proposals after stalking-related murders.
- Establishing mutual care networks involving community volunteers, borough wardens, social welfare units, and police to monitor and support victims continuously, especially vulnerable groups such as the elderly, who often conceal abuse or refuse assistance.
- Prioritising victim protection even if the victim is reluctant to cooperate, by following up consistently and providing discreet social service assistance.
- Intensively training police and social workers on domestic abuse dynamics and early warning signs, improving identification and intervention before violence escalates.
- Utilising technology such as emergency alert systems, GPS monitoring for abusers, and digital evidence collection to enhance restraining order enforcement and victim safety.
In addition, Taiwan should consider implementing a proactive prevention strategy for high-risk families, rather than the traditional reactive model. This could involve establishing databases of high-risk families for improved communication between police and social workers. An inter-ministerial agency dedicated to protecting high-risk families from domestic abuse and providing a coordinated response should also be established.
Mental health professionals should be integrated into the network for pre-emptive intervention in potential crisis cases. Mandatory mental health rehabilitation should be imposed on domestic violence offenders, and laws should empower judicial authorities to impose heavier penalties on repeat contraveners of restraining orders.
Roger Chen, a master's student at National Taiwan University College of Medicine's Department of Medical Education and Bioethics, emphasises the need for these changes. He suggests that rulings that combine psychological treatment, compulsory education, and community service could offer a more effective path to breaking the cycle of abuse.
The incidents reflect Taiwan's failure in addressing domestic abuse cases effectively. However, with the implementation of these proposed measures, Taiwan can improve its enforcement of restraining orders, strengthen police authority, create better tracking and rapid response mechanisms, and implement proactive community-based support networks to safeguard victims.
