At the Migrant Worker Sexual Abuse Prevention Professional Training Program, organized by the Garden of Hope Foundation (GOH) and sponsored by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, over 40 delegates from different public sectors and civil organizations gathered in Kaohsiung City on October 12-13, 2016, to discuss how to use the legal system to aid in preventing sexual assault against female migrant workers in Taiwan and to meet the needs of survivors, especially foreign domestic caregivers from Southeast Asia.
Speakers at the conference include Kali Lee, a specialist from the Research and Development Department of GOH; Yin-mei Pan, division chief of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Protection Division of the Ministry of Health and Welfare; Yu-lain Zhong, a counseling psychologist from the Taoyuan Armed Forces General Hospital; Father Ranulfo T. Salise, CS, director of AOS-APOSTOLATUS MARIS Taiwan-National; Pin-pin Hsu, a lawyer from Legal Aid Foundation; Pei-chun Chen, a supervisor of social workers from the Association of Taiwan People’s Social Welfare, and Xiu-chen Liu, a researcher from the Ministry of Labor.
“Female migrant domestic workers are constantly at risk in their working environment because of their isolation and vulnerability…. In addition, some indecent brokers and employers threaten them with huge financial burdens and damage to their reputations after raping them. This is why we must unite with a common mission to assist them within the legal and social welfare systems,” said Lee.
This training program focused on female migrant workers in two aspects. The first goal was to boost the professional knowledge and skills of workers in the social welfare and labor affairs sector, and to educate shelter staff on the needs of victims of sexual abuse to improve their quality of service. The second goal was to increase the opportunities for communication and interaction among workers in the service network to improve the efficiency and proficiency of sexual assault prevention.
“People in crisis or who have endured traumatic experiences do not see themselves as needing mental health services and are unlikely to request them…. Reactions to a crisis or a traumatic event vary considerably from person to person. Thus, we need to provide survivor-centered service to assist clients who have suffered from sexual violence,” said Father Ranulfo.
Through the use of interactive group sessions and daily case discussions, the participants felt empowered by their increased understanding of the issue and were happy to resume their work armed with new strategies to combat sexual assault.