Taiwan Coalition Against Violence (TCAV) is a leading nonprofit advocacy organization dedicated to the prevention and elimination of gender-based violence (GBV) in Taiwan. Founded in 2004 by 11 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for women, TCAV succeeded in pushing for the enforcement of three critical GBV-related laws in Taiwan – the Sexual Assault Crime Prevention Act, the Domestic Violence Prevention Act, and the Sexual Harassment Prevention Act.
Currently, TCAV consists of an alliance of 39 NGOs and 35 experts working on the diverse issues of domestic violence, sexual assault, child protection, victim protection, and more. The coalition consolidates the efforts of all affiliated NGOs for advocacy on a wide range of topics and the construction of a comprehensive legal structure and guidelines. In addition to playing a strong role in developing protection services for women and children and coordinating between public and private networks, the coalition also strives to implement CEDAW (UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women), thereby enabling Taiwan to keep pace with international standards.
Our goal is to build a violence prevention system to ensure that everyone in Taiwan can live free from any violence and abuse. Therefore, we work through several programs:
The Judicial Advocacy Plan engages in the movement for the establishment of Violence Prevention Act and activities that help the criminal justice system to have a better understanding of the nature of gender-based violence. We advocate victim-centered judicial reform, the criminal justice system needs to be redesigned to protect and assist women, viewing physical and mental safety issues as a priority. Recently, we also advocate trauma-Informed approach that criminal justice system needs to realize victims’ response to trauma and prevent secondary harm.
The Owl Violence Prevention, Complaints, and Supervision Hot Line Program supports individuals who suffer from gender-based violence but received inadequate service upon request for assistance from the police, the medical system, the social assistance department, judicial system, or other related units. If the clients’ rights were violated due to gaps in the current laws and systems, there is a review committee composed of specialists in this program. They have regular meetings to discuss these cases and provide suggestions for government authorities to decrease the mishandling of cases.
Media Supervision and Advocacy Project focuses on whether the perspectives the media takes when reporting GBV a) offer audience a correct perception of GBV prevention, b) strengthen traditional GBV misconceptions and stereotypes, and c) compromise victim privacy. TCAV continually advocate for the media to improve gender equality, protect the privacy of victims, and shape the correct reporting methods of gender violence. We attend external conferences on media case discussions and media self-discipline committees. To raise awareness of media workers, TCAV develops several principles in need of consideration when reporting sexual assaults, e.g., providing survivors’ voices, experts’ opinions, and resources.
Grassroots movement to eliminate violence connects Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and risk factors for violence and integrates the know-how of TCAV to approach the grassroots communities, promoting the formation against violence and networks for freedom from violence, stigma and stereotypes. Engaging youth in cooperation with elders, we extend the system-based advocacy to community-based advocacy and turn SDGs from global vision into local action. Our works include linking resources, economic empowerment and building capacity of communities to prevent violence. We attempt to create bottom-up movements from grass-root communities, and ultimately change public attitudes, culture and social norms. TCAV shows gender equality and sustainable impact from a local to global scale and the cross-cutting alliance to create a generation equality future society.
Besides these programs, TCAV has been conducting Victim Protection Network Conferences since 2012, with standardized cases accumulated over the past nine years to provide network members with learning opportunities and to promote collaborative network practices. To effectively improve the impacts of organizational reconfiguration and address the lack of integration in our networks, we hope that any compromise to the system’s accountability (such as service interruption or negligence) will be prevented and the increasingly multitudinous issues on gender-based violence (GBV) addressed. In the internetwork endeavor, external resources and interdisciplinary collaboration are indispensable.
In recent years, the “Victim-Centered Integration Agenda”, through vigorous promotion by TCAV, has taken off across Taiwan, as is evident in the exchange of experiences and successes in the annual Victim Protection Network Conferences. As an NGO prioritized in social advocacy and activism, TCAV strives for every individual to live with dignity. TCAV voices for those in need. We listen to the victims, care about the female issue, and approach to the community to focus on elder protection.
Furthermore, to consolidate the advocacy work on GBV prevention across Asia, TCAV has held Asia-Pacific Summit on Gender-based Violence biennially since 2016. Focusing on efforts to combat gender-based violence in the region, numerous NGOs and scholars who make significant influences on GBV prevention in Asia were invited to participate the summit. It is a communication platform where NGOs and experts from across the globe can gather and discuss legal frameworks and preventative strategies. Ultimately, we hope that the exchange will spark new approaches and promote best practice.
With the spirit of “leaving no one behind”, TCAV hopes to raise and expand awareness about violence prevention, on the levels of the individual, organization, community, and country to ensure that national, regional, and local government taking all steps necessary to prevent and eliminate gender-based violence. In doing so, the vision behind human rights will be truly realized in our country, ultimately exerting a positive influence on the world, and progressing toward a violence-free society that we have envisioned.
We gratefully accept donations and hope to expand our partnership with other NGO’s work to continue the important mission on preventing the gender-based violence. It will help us eliminate violence from the lives of thousands of women and girls in Taiwan and other parts of Asia. Together we can work towards building a world free of violence and achieve gender justice for all.
