The #metoo call

Women in Taiwan/Illustration image. Chiang Ying-ying / AP  

 

The #metoo call 

Metoo wave over Taiwan: 'More common than people think'  

 

A Metoo wave has swept over Taiwan in the past month, reports AFP. The island is often described as one of the most progressive Asian democracies, among other things it has relatively many female politicians and was the first in Asia to allow same-sex marriage.  

 

But activists say, according to the news agency, that the Metoo wave shows that gender inequality is a deep-rooted problem, stemming from a victim-blaming culture.  

 

- Sexual violence - everything from intimate partner violence to sexual harassment - is more common than people think, says Liao Shu-Wen who is the secretary general of the Taiwan Coalition Against Violence.  

 

 

The post became the starting point: "Sorry to hear everything"  

 

22-year-old Chen Chien-Jou's Facebook post about how a TV director groped her during a car ride last year started a Metoo wave in Taiwan. The incident occurred while she was working on the Netflix series "Wave makers" and the post soon led to more testimonies on social media. 

 

- It is good that the victims can speak out, something that requires a lot of courage. But it makes me sad to hear that about things that shouldn't have happened, she told AFP.  

 

In addition to the debate created by the posts, the Metoo wave has also had consequences in the form of initiated criminal investigations and public apologies from accused celebrities.