The Ministry of the Interior is in charge of the administration of national social welfare matters while the Department of Social Affairs is in charge of the planning, implementation, instruction and administration of social welfare, public assistance, social insurance, civil organizations and cooperative enterprises. Meanwhile, based on the “Sexual Assault Prevention Law” and the “Domestic Violence Prevention Law”, this Ministry also established a “Sexual Assault Prevention Commission” in 1997 and a “Domestic Violence Prevention Commission” in 1998. In July 2002, both commissions merged into a “Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Prevention Commission”. Also, in November of 1999, we set up a Child Welfare Bureau, under the Ministry of the Interior to deal with child welfare matters.
II. Social Welfare
1. Child and Juvenile Welfare
As of December 2003, there were 3,517,956 children under the age of 12 years and 1,912,007 juveniles in the age group of 12 to 18 years living in Taiwan, representing 15.56% and 8.46% of the population respectively—a total of 24.02%. The Ministry of the Interior strived to integrate and strengthen both public and private sectors in hopes of implementing better welfare services, such as protection and counseling services for children and juveniles. The “Child Welfare Act” and “Juvenile Welfare Act” were combined into the “Child and Juvenile Welfare Act” in May 2003 to guarantee the rights and interests of children and juveniles. This Ministry started to delegate Child and Juvenile Affairs to Children’s Bureau in September 2003.
An increase in double-income households and single-parent families changed the social structure of Taiwan. Many issues surfaced, including infant and child care, after school care, care for children with developmental delays, living assistance, placement, referral, protection, counseling and medical insurance for abused, abandoned and unsupported children and juveniles, etc. There are also needs for prevention of child and juvenile deviant behavior, referral,placement and counseling services for juvenile offenders, child and juvenile sexual transaction prevention and juvenile crime prevention. The Children’s Bureau is making an effort to revise organizational statutes and to reform itself. It hopes to provide more comprehensive welfare services to children and juveniles with its resources and manpower. Current major tasks and projects are as followed:
(1) Child care
◎Quality child-care services
a.We will improve professional babysitter practices and promote babysitter support
systems.We also will guide local governments to work with private organizations in
order to facilitate babysitter training and certificate programs. The numbers of
babysitters holding official certificates were 26,050. In addition, there are
41babysitter support systems at 23 local governments.
b. Establish public and private preschools. The numbers of preschools in Taiwan at
the end of the year 2003 were 3,897. Currently, there are 327,125 children
attending these reschools.
c. It is our determination to establish after school care centers to provide care services
to school-age children. There are currently 1,015 registered after school care
centers serving 40,309 children.
d. We have issued “The Standard of Evaluating Nursing Institutions” for local
governments to follow.
◎Child-care assistance
a. Nursery Educational Vouchers: We began providing assistance to children over
5 years of age in private preschools starting in September 2000. Children who
meet the required conditions can receive a yearly assistance of NT$10,000.
Approximately 90,000 children benefit from this program every year.
b. Child Care Assistance for Middle-to-low Income Families: We have planned
a“Child Care Assistance for Middle-to-low Income Families Project”, targeting
children over 5 years old in registered preschools who are from middle-to-low
income families. Starting in 2004, every qualified child is entitled to a maximum
of NT$6,000 assistance every semester.
◎Preschool and Kindergarten Integration: The Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of
Education co- instituted the Ad Hoc Group of Preschool and Kindergarten Integration in 2001
in order to plan the requisite framework and corresponding measures. As a result of
numerous discussions, the Ministry of the Interior is in charge of infant care affairs for
children under 2 years old and nursery schools for children in the age group of 2 to 5 years
of age; and the Ministry of Education is responsible for children over 5 years old by including
them under the National Education System, which was originally instituted for children from
the age of 6 years.
◎Early Intervention for Developmental Delays
a. We are guiding local governments to establish “Early Intervention for Developmental
Delays Promotion Group (or Committee)”. In addition, we have established a “Referral
Center for Children with Developmental Delays” and also we have strengthened pertinent
reporting and referral mechanisms.
b. This Ministry instituted the “Resources Integration Project for Early Intervention of
Developmental Delays”. With this project in mind, we also have established a seamless
early intervention service network by integrating regional resources.
c. We have issued the “Treatment Fees Assistance Project for Early Intervention of
Developmental Delays”. Starting in 2004, assistance of treatment fees and transportation
expenses for children with developmental delay is to be given to those children in need.
(2) Financial assistance for children and juveniles
◎Medical Assistance to Disadvantaged Children from Low Income Families: We provide
assistance to children under 12 years old from low income families who meet the Public
Assistance Act, for children who qualify for living assistance to children from middle-to-low
income families, children under 6 years of age who meet the conditions stated in Article
9 of The Statute on Assisting the Families of Women in Difficult Circumstances, child
protection cases, children who are placed in registered public or private child care
institutions or foster families, and other children who qualify for our assistance.
◎This Ministry is continuing to conduct “Medical Assistance Plan for Children under 3 years
of Age”. Under this concept, we provide children under 3 years old who are covered by
National Health Insurance with outpatient and inpatient co-payment assistance.
◎We care for children and juveniles from crisis families: With this point in mind, it is also our determination to provide temporary care and short-term placement services to those
children and juveniles with unemployed parents. We make family visits and provide
counseling services to children and juveniles from high-risk families. This Ministry also
facilitates family preservation and family reunification services for abused children and
juveniles and follow-up counseling services for dropout students. It is our ongoing goal to
provide in-person counseling sessions for children under 12 years old together with their
divorced parents and also outreach services to disadvantaged children with foreign or
mainlander parents. We offer community mentoring programs to children and juveniles
and promote family support systems. This Ministry provides living or medical assistance
to those juveniles in schools or young people who are incapable of making a living. In
addition, we provide for children and juveniles who do not have child mentors or who
have such helpers who are incapable of supporting them.
(3) Child and juvenile protection
◎This Ministry has set up a free 24-hour Women and Children Protection Hotline (113). As
such we provide services like child and juvenile protection counseling, reporting schemes,
missing children and juveniles programs, parenting education, etc.
◎We have established the Information Management Center for Missing Children and
Juveniles and have also set up the Help Find Missing Children and Juveniles Hotline
(0800-049880) in order to facilitate relevant work.
◎This Ministry has established 26 community child and juvenile shelters. This process
involves stepping up services provided by local governments, such as advising, reporting,
counseling, referral services, as well as compulsory parenting education and family
reconstruction counseling services.
◎We are guiding local governments to promote child and juvenile foster family services to
take care of children and juveniles who are temporarily unsuited to stay with their families.
(4) Child and juvenile welfare institutions
◎We have provided appropriate guidance in the establishment of 76 child and juvenile residential institutions in order to take care of children and juveniles who were not taken
good care of, abandoned, abused, traded or held hostage, as well as children and juveniles
who were forced or lured into illegal work or illicit conduct. This mission involves improving
facilities and strengthening professional training for manpower.
◎ We are providing appropriate counseling in the establishment of 13 care centers to provide
emergency shelter and counseling services and 21 emergency and short-term
accommodations to provide emergency shelter, counseling, and short-term placement
counseling services.
◎ We are providing guidance in the establishment of 21 child welfare service centers and 36
juvenile welfare service centers in order to provide services such as advising, counseling
and referral services, parenting education, family and recreational activities, etc.
(5) The Ministry of the Interior has facilitated the opening of a series of activities for Family
Season (April to June), Protection Season (July to September), Vitality Season (July to
September) and Human Rights Season (October to December). These activities are
designed to promoting the importance of family values, recreation, protection of rights and
interests of children and juveniles, etc.
(6) Juvenile Referral Programs: We are strengthening juvenile protection measures in
accordance with The Law Governing the Disposition of Juvenile Cases. Under the concepts
of this legislation, we are now guiding judiciary staff in special cities and local governments
to provide resources related to juvenile offender referral services, placement counseling, etc.
(7) Child and Juvenile Sexual Transaction Prevention Work: Presently we are holding
interdepartmental meetings-“Child and Juvenile Sexual Transaction Prevention Supervisory
Meeting”-and we also have set up a crisis hotline (0800-000-919). Any person who is
suspected of being the victim of child and juvenile sexual transactions, either discovered or
rescued by police, will be accompanied by a social worker appointed by the local regulator
at the interrogation, in order to protect the rights and interests of the victim and to provide
assistance in the case.
(8) This Ministry is holding regular meetings at groups called: Early Intervention for
Developmental Delays, Service Steering Group, Child and Juvenile Welfare Promotion
Committee and Child and Juvenile Sexual Transaction Prevention Group. Instituted Child
and Juvenile Affairs in January 2003, we established a Promotion Committee under the
auspices of the Legislative Yuan. We are thus instituting child and juvenile welfare policies in
a comprehensive and consistent manner through various interdepartmental organizations.
2. Senior Citizen Welfare We are increasing welfare services for senior citizens. Our government is thus actively reinforcing relevant welfare programs. For example: We are now providing in-home care services and family support, along with the formation of networks for senior citizen’s protection. We also are endeavoring to build a more open environment and also dwellings I for our senior citizens. It is in addition our policy to offer health and medical care services and institutional services to these people. We are also preparing allowances as well as insurance and in-community care services and social involvement activities for our senior citizens. We are also developing enhanced manpower, training, and education and service promotion for these valued and respected members of our society. All of these activities are intended to take care of senior citizen’s quality of living and also to solve related problems. With these ends in mind and in order to ensure our senior citizen’s quality of living and to improve their welfare, any citizen aged 65 or over, who has a registered household in the Taiwan-Fuchien Area and who has lived in this area for more than 183 days every year within a given 3 year period, is entitled to a monthly allowance of NT$3,000 except in cases where regulations and rules deem otherwise. This allowance have been applied since June 2002. There are more than 653 thousand senior citizens currently receiving this allowance for total ofNT$34,426,490 thousand by the end of 2003.
3. Disabled Citizens Welfare To assist disabled citizens, our government promulgated the “Disabled Citizen Welfare Law”. We further amended this law and renamed it the “Physically and Mentally Disabled Citizen’s Protection Law” promulgated by the President in April 1997. The “Physically and Mentally Disabled Citizens Protection Law” includes the responsibilities of medical care, education, employment services, welfare services, traffic, obstacle-free environment and preferential tax treatment for each institution caring for these people. This law also stipulates regulations concerning health rehabilitation, educational rights, vocational training, welfare services and institutions, punishments etc. In order to safeguard the legal rights of disabled citizens and also to fulfill social welfare policies, this Ministry partially modified “The Physically and Mentally Disabled Protection Law” in November 2001.
By the end of 2003, we had distributed handbooks for disabled people among a total of 861,030 people in the Taiwan-Fuchien Area. We also established a computer system for “The Social Administration of Disabled, Senior Citizens and Public Assistance Information” in order to increase the efficiency of our services and to promote safety systems within the ROC economy, community caring, nursery services and disabled-child fostering and also services related to the overall development of society. In addition, our government is vitally concerned with the necessity of providing disabled citizens with day-care services, early medical care and short-term day-care. To this end, we helped to develop and fund 241 welfare institutions for physically and mentally challenged people. We are also providing services to these organizations depending on their demands and needs. To achieve our national goal of equal opportunity for all and access to these institutions, each level of government authority periodically sponsors physically and mentally disabled citizen’s protection committees to insure that physically and mentally disabled people are guaranteed their legal rights.
４. Women’s Welfare
In order to further meet women’s demands, the budget for women’s welfare has been listed as a separate item commencing in 1991. The Executive Yuan formed a “Commission on Women’s Rights Promotion, Executive Yuan” in 1997 to execute relevant policies. It also established a “Foundation of Women’s Rights Promotion and Development”.To promote welfare for women, our government is working hard to establish various diversified welfare service centers. Private organizations for females are also being encouraged to volunteer their services for women who are suffering hardships. Various local governments within the ROC also provide counseling, placement services, and protection to help those women improve their situations.
III. Public Assistance
Our government presently grants low-income citizens regular subsidies, emergency relief, and disaster relief to help them overcome hardships. We have programs such as vocational training, employment services, career development loans, and labor-exchange-for-aid to help employable people stand on their own feet. At the end of 2003, there were 76,410 low-income families (187,875 persons). This figure comprises 0.83 percent of the total population of Taiwan. The various services at each government level for low-income families include: Granting regular and nutritional subsidies to lying-in women and babies, either assigning or renting them reasonable housing, helping them to purchase public housing, the granting of inexpensive daily necessities, providing a living allowance to senior citizens, subsidizing disabled people and children and also providing relevant schooling. On the other hand, we also have programs such as vocational training, employment services, career development loans, and labor-exchange-foraid to help low-income citizens stand on their own feet and to upgrade their working abilities. Meanwhile, we are also assisting these citizens to solve their daily problems by offering emergency relief, disaster relief, medical subsidies and shelters for homeless people.
IV. Social Insurance
1. Farmer’s health insurance is the backbone of our social security system.
The Ministry of the Interior has been trying to reinforce welfare services and also gradually to
expand the farmer’s health insurance program for socioeconomic development. With this goal in mind, we promulgated The Farmer’s Health Insurance Statute in July 1989. The coverage of this insurance includes all farmers’aged 15 and older working in agricultural jobs. In addition, we increased their insurance benefits. Farmers covered by this health insurance program are thus entitled to maternity, sickness, injury, disability, and funeral allowance payments. All benefit payments related to sickness and injury care were shifted from this program to the National Health Insurance System when “The National Health Insurance Law” was implemented in March 1995. The Farmer’s Health Insurance Law was amended and sent to the Legislative Yuan in June 1995, but was not approved by the legislators. In order to reform the farmer’s health insurance system, this Ministry will re-plan and draft “The Farmer’s Health Insurance Law”. The farmer’s health insurance program covered a total of 289 agencies and 1,710,122 insured people by the end of 2003.
2. National Pension System In May 2000, the new government decided to reevaluate the original planning of this system. Meanwhile, based on the original planning of the National Pension System and the decision of the National Conference for Social Welfare, this Ministry has finished the draft of the National Pension Act, under which this security system has more social insurance contents and benefits. The Act was sent to the Legislative Yuan in June 2002.
V. Civil Organization
Civil organizations of our nation can be divided into three categories: i.e. vocational, social and political groups. While a political party may commence activities after it reports to the authority-in-charge for registration purposes, other civil organizations may not be set up before a given organization’s sponsor obtains prior approval from the relevant social administration agency. However, any given group must also be guided and supervised by the government agency in charge of the business engaged in by this group. In recent years, civil organizations have increased their numbers and expanded their businesses. They have thus made great contributions to balanced economic and social development.
VI. Cooperative Enterprises
1. Cooperative Enterprise
Cooperative enterprises are an important part of our national economic development. The goals of these organizations are to achieve economic targets and to improve living conditions for their members under the concepts of joint management. The Constitution of our nation stipulates that cooperative enterprises shall be encouraged and supported by the government. Our government actively provides assistance to the forming of cooperative associations, farms, and workshops in accordance with the wishes and practical requirements of the people. The goals of establishing governmental organizations in-charge of cooperative enterprises are creating beneficial environments and also assuring that cooperative enterprises operate legally. In addition, we also have the goal of assisting the administration and development of cooperative
enterprises in order to care for disabled people. The purposes and objectives of cooperative enterprises are as follows:
(1) The critique and award of cooperative associations, farms and workshops Based on the
regulations concerning cooperative enterprises, we conduct a critique of cooperative
enterprises each year. According to the level of criticism at this annual meeting, we decide
whether to encourage, adjust or dismiss individual cooperative enterprises.
(2) Managing cooperative organizations and assisting with their financial requirements.
(3) Developing educational materials, propaganda and audits concerning cooperative enterprises.
(4) It is our strong goal to establish managerial functions of cooperative associations, farms and
workshops, and also to establish an entire system to coordinate cooperative enterprises, to
emphasize assistance among government agencies and cooperative enterprises and finally,
to establish viable brand images of cooperative enterprises in order to interact with
international organizations. 2. Credit Unions Credit unions are bottom-line financial organizations. They are composed both of various people and non-profit organizations on self-help bases. The goals in these cases are to encourage savings and to meet client’s financial needs by providing reasonable loan rates to the organization’s members. We have made great contributions to raising member’s social statuses and to improving their financial situations as well as in reducing the disadvantages produced by illegal lending organizations. In May of 1997, we promulgated a “Credit Union Act” after a previous such endeavor thirty years ago. This Act was amended in 2000 and 2002, assigning functional administration to the Ministry of the Interior. The main task in 2003 was to amend the “Law of Establishment, Management and Supervision of Credit Unions”to help our local governments to accomplish pertinent registration work. In order to assist the public to understand credit unions, we conduct seminars and also visit many of these organizations.
VII. Community Development and Volunteer Services
Community development is an important factor in promoting social welfare. To maintain previous achievements, our government is investing huge financial resources every year in order to take care of children within the community, senior citizens, and disabled citizens. The implementation rules for community development were promulgated in December 1996.
This program integrates the resources of the social welfare system and the community development field. Its purpose is to create a community welfare service network, and to carry out social welfare services at local levels. We promulgated and enforced a “Volunteer Service Act” on June 20, 2001. According this act, our government is educating the public in the concept of“ Those who give assistance have better luck than those who receive it, and those who offer are happier than
“Those who give assistance have better luck than those who receive it, and those who offer are happier than those who take”. We are thus encouraging our citizens to join volunteer service programs. Our goal is ultimately to attain a peaceful and harmonious society. The Ministry of the Interior, therefore, established a Peace and Harmony Program Integrating Volunteer Efforts for Promotion of Social Welfare Tasks, with the hope that volunteer services could be implemented in a systematic manner. Major tasks under this program this year are as follows:
To increase recognition and awareness about volunteering;
To launch a series of publicity campaigns for the development of a program devoted to peace and
harmony;
To develop volunteer service networks;
To evaluate volunteer programs to honor outstanding volunteers and voluntary service groups;
Finally to sponsor volunteer education and training programs.
VIII. Prevention Services Concerning Sexual and Domestic Violence
The issue of the prevention of sexual and domestic violence has the rising awareness and concern of the general public as well as the increasing demand for the help of government agencies. (See Table 4-8) Accordingly, this Ministry is taking the following measures to provide the public with comprehensive protection:
1. The Establishment of a Comprehensive Protective System Concerning Sexual and
Domestic Violence (1) Amending and studying the “Domestic Violence Protection Law” and the “Sexual Violence
Protection Law” In order to handle all the problems and difficulties of providing adequate
protection against sexual and domestic violence, this Ministry drafted the amendment of“
Domestic Violence Protection Law” and “Sexual Violence Protection Law” both of which
have been submitted to the Legislative Yuan in December 2003 and to the Executive Yuan
in November 2003, respectively for final decisions.
(2) Assessment of the efforts of local governments to prevent sexual domestic violence and to
protect potential victims from the ravages of these crimes In order for local governments to
carry out effective prevention of and protection from sexual and domestic violence, an
evaluation committee comprised of scholars in this field convened in July and August of
2002.
(3) Beginning of a “Plan for Implementing Prevention of Protection of Sexual and Domestic
Violence Work at Local Levels” In order to supervise the implementation of prevention and
protection work of sexual and domestic violence at local levels, this Ministry convenes
regular working supervision team meetings and also executes the relevant improvement
plans. A supervision team must choose areas for direct consulting and also for providing
essential help.
(4) Promotion of the efficiency and effectiveness of a data bank regarding the prevention of and
protection from sexual and domestic violence The Ministry of the Interior has developed a
“Plan of Expansion of Domestic and Sexual Violence Data Bank System and Integration of
Child Protection Case System Management” in 2003. We are scheduled to complete this
plan in the third quarter of 2004. This approach has the goal of achieving a more systematic,
comprehensive, efficient case management system including relevant statistical analyses.
(5) Sponsoring a “Vision Camp of Prevention and Protection Networks Regarding Sexual and
Domestic Violence, 2003”In order to motivate those working on the front lines, to strengthen
the coordination and cooperation of prevention and protection networks regarding sexual and
domestic violence, and in order to achieve annual promotion targets, the Ministry of the
Interior sponsored a “Vision Camp Concerning Prevention and Protection Networks
Pertaining Ton Sexual and Domestic Violence, 2003” with the participation of judges of
district and high courts, prosecutors, representatives of the Judicial Yuan, the Ministry of
Justice, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Education, and the Department of Health, the
Labor Council, and directors of the Sexual and Domestic Violence Center of Municipal and
County (City) Governments nationwide. 2. Help Victims
(1) Protection of victims of sexual violence
This Ministry has worked on “the Upgrading and Improvement of 113 Women and Children
Protection Hotlines and the establishment of central data banks to monitor local connections.
With linkages to domestic violence data banks, we have strongly improved the efficiency and
effectiveness of inter-network functions of 113 Women and Children Protection Hotlines. We
also convened a “Conference on Standard Operational Procedures Concerning the Handling
of Sexual Violence” and produced an amendment of the existing forms for reference relating
to data bank improvement. We in addition held a seminar on “Sexual Violence Prevention
Mechanisms of Mentally Disabled People Located in California, USA”. We convened this
meeting in order to learn from foreign experiences for future strategic use and reference. We
held training related to counseling of mentally disabled victims of sexual violence. This training
was given to improve the professional knowledge and skills of workers in the prevention and
protection networks. “Description of Medical Examination and Re-examination of the Victims
of Sexual Violence” was distributed at this session to remind the victims of their rights.
(2) Protection against domestic violence
We set up a counseling hotline for foreign spouses, “0800-088-885”, in order to offer help
to these people. We also held a “Conference and Visiting of Joint Office of Domestic Violence
of District Court and Taipei City Government” to facilitate the work and resources of local
governments and the courts in terms of the distribution and sharing of social workers and
legal resources. This Ministry also invites experts and scholars to conduct a “Study on
Sheltering Measures for the Victims of Domestic Violence”. We are in addition promoting
working with relevant agencies and local governments to strengthen our help and protection
of these victims. A help and service network has been established and an appropriate work
manual has been compiled to provide more professional knowledge and skills. “Supervised
Visitation” has been translated into Chinese to offer guidelines to those people who send
children under 18 to foreign guardians. Our report form of domestic violence has been
combined with children and teenagers protection cases for the improvement of efficiency.
The Ministry of the Interior has worked with the Executive Yuan and Labor Council on
counseling and reintroduction mechanisms. With job training resources, these victims will
have a chance to learn essential skills to support themselves and to live independently. The
idea of giving work permits to spouses from the mainland who have received protection orders
is under discussion with the Executive Yuan, Mainland Office, and Labor Council.
(3) Training on counseling given to children who witness the domestic violence
Discussions and studies of handling procedures of children who witness domestic violence
has been completed; “Identification of Children and Teenagers Who Witness Domestic
Violence” information sheets have been printed and more VCDs and brochures of “My
Wish” are being released to help promote this project. Counseling cases regarding
teenagers who witness domestic violence have been provided for using of school teaching;
advanced consolers and seed teacher training programs on the counseling of children who
witness domestic violence are being sponsored to improve professional knowledge and skills.
Training of professional workers on the counseling of children and teenagers who witness
domestic violence has been organized to improve people on the front line and in networks
involving prevention of and protection from domestic violence.
(4) Enhancing prevention and protection work of domestic violence in aboriginal regions
We also convened a work meeting concerning “Prevention and Protection Measures
Regarding Domestic Violence in Aboriginal Regions” to identify current work conditions and
problems. Five sessions of “Handling of Domestic Violence in the Aboriginal Region of
Huatung” was held with the participation of policemen and social workers of prevention and
protection centers and women’s service centers. 3. Establishing Comprehensive Legal Procedures and Enhancing Evaluation and Treatment Work for the Victims
In coordination with Article 91-1 of the ROC Criminal Law and the amendment of the Sexual Violence Protection Law, this Ministry now has been working on the reviewing of legal and counseling procedures to protect the rights of victims. We are trying to learn mechanisms adopted by other advanced countries. We are thus going to amend our sexual protection law and reinforce counseling procedures and treatment for victims with an aim to set up a comprehensive localized community-monitoring model. 4. Improving Forensic Work and Handling Procedures Concerning Domestic Violence
In order to improve the handling work and forensic work of each level of government, the Ministry of the Interior is giving educational training and holding conferences for professionals to equip them with more knowledge and skills. 5. Training of Prevention and Protection Network Workers
We held training sessions including Seminars on “Sexual Violence Prevention Mechanisms of the Mentally Disabled As Adopted in California, USA”. We are heavily involved in Domestic Violence Prevention: Reviewing and Discussion of Incest and Sexual Violence Cases in Legal Fields, the Media, and Social Work Scenes, Women and Children Safety Workshop, 2003, Conference and Visiting the Joint Office of Domestic Violence of District Court and Taipei City Government, Workshop of Social Worker Supervision and Management, Workshop on Merit Management Model of Female Victims and “Investigation Skills”. There are also training sessions involving: Gender, Violence, and Power Conference, Prevention and Protection of Domestic Violence in Aboriginal Areas, Continuing Community Education, two sessions of the“ Symposium on Female Safety Education and Social Work Networks”, “Victims of Mainland Spouses in Domestic Violence Incidents”, and “Case Management and Integrated Resources Training”. 6. This Ministry is actively promoting Prevention of and Protection from Domestic Violence
We are effectively achieving this goal through previews in movies, TV and radio programs, and also by use of activities to enhance the awareness of gender equality and prevention of and protection from domestic violence. In addition, we are also developing plans for the months of June and July concerning Prevention of and Protection from Domestic and Sexual Violence. We are promoting this program through various media channels and
specifically by use of “My Story” calling for stories, Women and Children Safety Convention, 123 Hotline, Guardian Angel basic and advanced training courses. 7. This Ministry is continuously promoting the “System to Reduce Second-Time Reports of Sexual Violence Victims”
The Ministry of the Interior continues to promote the “System to Reduce Second-Time Reports of Sexual Violence Victims.” As of the end of 2003, six counties and cities including Taipei City, Kaohsiung City and County, Hualien County, Keelung City, Tainan City and County, and Miaoli County participated in this system. Starting from February 15, 2003, cases involved teenagers and soldiers have also been included and “The Protection of Victim’s Rights in the System to Reducing Second-Time Report of Sexual Violence”. This System to Reduce Second-Time Reports of Sexual Violence Victim’s Workbook” and“ Procedures of the System to Reduce Second-Time Reports of Sexual Violence Victims” have been made into brochures. 8. Planning the Establishment of “Help Network of Domestic Violence Victims”
In order to improve our efficiency in having policemen respond to domestic violence cases, the 110 emergency telephone number now automatically connects to the domestic violence prevention and protection data bank which is now called the “Automatic Reports and Handling on Site Headquarters”. We first used this system in Tainan City on June 1, 2003. 9. We are developing a teaching plan for “Counseling for Children and for Mentally
Disabled Victims of Sexual Violence”
We have created a Teaching Plan for “Counseling for Children and the Mentally Disabled Victims of Sexual Violence” including a drawing book, “My Day in Court”, a pasting book titled “Introduction to the Court,” and a color book of “Self Protection for Children” to provide information to help first-line workers to provide explanations to children and the disabled about terms and handling procedures involving sexual violence. Six sessions of regional activities of “Investigation Tools used for Children and the Mentally Disabled Victims of Sexual Violence” were given to judges, prosecutors, policemen and social workers to improve their investigation efficiency.
