The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) held a press conference today (29th) to release its Independent Opinion on Taiwan's Fifth Report on the Implementation of CEDAW. The assessment addresses six major areas: definition of discrimination against women, gender equality mechanisms, gender-based violence against women, participation in public affairs and decision-making power, work-family life balance, and intersectional discrimination against women in disadvantaged groups. The Commission presented 40 monitoring observations and 20 recommendations, supervised by Commissioners Chi Hui-jung and Kao Yung-cheng.
Vice Chairperson Chi Hui-jung noted that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the death of women's rights pioneer Ms. Peng Wan-ru. Ms. Peng's tragic murder in 1996 catalyzed the enactment of the Sexual Assault Crime Prevention Act and amendments to the Criminal Code. Similarly, Taiwan's MeToo movement in 2023 prompted institutional reforms and amendments to the "three gender equality laws." The NHRC hopes that through CEDAW's periodic review and follow-up mechanisms, gender equality can be advanced proactively, rather than only after major incidents occur.
Commissioner Kao stated that through CEDAW reporting, review, and follow-up mechanisms, Taiwan has indeed made considerable progress in women's rights and gender equality over the past four years. However, certain discriminatory practices and inequalities remain that require improvement, and the NHRC has prepared this Independent Opinion to remind the government of its obligations. The issues and content of the Independent Opinion are primarily derived from the NHRC's handling of complaints from 2021 to 2025, research and investigations, years of collaboration with the Foundation for Women’s Rights Promotion and Development to gather input from grassroots women's organizations, cross-referenced analysis of official documentation, and consultation with public and private sector stakeholders in accordance with the Paris Principles. The Commission also referenced the United Nations CEDAW Committee's follow-up procedures and applied three guiding principles for issue selection: first, issues repeatedly raised by previous International Review Committees that the government has yet to implement; second, important issues not mentioned in the current National Report but deemed significant by the NHRC; and third, issues where institutional safeguards are insufficient.
Commissioner Kao pointed out that many issues are actually common concerns shared by previous CEDAW and the two Covenants (ICCPR and ICESCR) International Review Committees, including the incomplete legislation of the Anti-Discrimination Act, lack of explicit prohibition of gender-based hate speech, and insufficient protection of domestic migrant workers' labor rights. Commissioner Kao emphasized that severe budget cuts by the Legislative Yuan have violated the Paris Principles and impaired the NHRC's exercise of its mandate.
Vice Chairperson Chi further explained that this Independent Opinion adopts a thematic approach, focusing on inconsistent standards for identifying gender discrimination, insufficient resources for gender equality mechanisms, persistent gender-based violence against women, the need to enhance women's participation in public affairs and decision-making influence, and difficulties in balancing work and family life for women. Special attention is given to the challenges faced by women in rural areas and indigenous women, migrant women workers/female marriage migrants, women with disabilities, divorced women, and LBTI+ individuals in the areas of health, labor, education, and family life.
Vice Chairperson Chi called upon all constitutional bodies to uphold the Paris Principles by safeguarding the NHRC's budgetary, personnel, and operational independence. She recommended that the government expedite the enactment of the Anti-Discrimination Act, promptly remove pathologizing requirements and mandatory surgical conditions for gender change registration, and promote domestic implementation of ILO C189 (Domestic Workers Convention). Regarding gender-based violence against women, she recommended that the government review the elements required to establish offenses against sexual autonomy in the Criminal Code and consider adopting an affirmative consent model, while continuing to enhance police officers' professional capacity in addressing stalking and harassment.
Vice Chairperson Chi also addressed the phenomena that only the Presidential Office's Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience Committee has achieved one-third female representation, the Executive Yuan has never reached one-third female cabinet members, and the lower the level of local elections, the lower the proportion of women elected. She recommended that the government fully include women in all policies related to responding to disaster and conflict threats, and amend the Political Parties Act to mandate that a certain proportion of government subsidies for political parties must be allocated to promote women's political participation. Concerning the 4.83% out-of-home childcare rate for children aged 0-2 in remote areas—far below the national average of 26.78%—and the absence of any obstetricians or midwifery personnel in 61 remote areas, she recommended improving the fairness and adequacy of public childcare service resource distribution and promoting midwifery workforce training and retention in rural areas. When asked by media about the government's timeline for implementing paid long-term care leave, Vice Chairperson Chi stated that the NHRC will continue to communicate with and advise the government, urging expedited progress.
The press conference was attended by NHRC Commissioners Yeh Ta-hua and Wang Li-jen, Control Yuan Secretary-General Huang Shih-cho, Deputy Secretary-General Wang Tseng-hua, and French human rights senior advisor Jérémie Beja, among others. A livestream was also provided. The complete CEDAW Independent Opinion is available on the NHRC website and Facebook page. The The NHRC thanks civil society organizations, academic experts, and government agencies for their contributions. The Commission will continue working with all stakeholders to advance women's human rights and build a more gender-equal society.