JRF Newsletter
May E-Paper | Hard Questions Under the Sun: After Disclosing, How Should #MeToo Survivors Face the Institutional Burn?
Last edited: 2026-08-22
In the early summer of 2023, Taiwan's #MeToo movement erupted, and much suppressed pain finally surfaced. We once witnessed those courageous and heartbreaking moments of speaking out together, but two years have passed—do you still remember their voices? While a small number of perpetrators entered the judicial system, many more continue to operate freely in their respective fields; meanwhile, those survivors who stood up are forced to face another difficult battle after telling the truth.
Due to limitations such as statutory limitation periods and the difficulty of gathering evidence, quite a few victims have been unable to seek justice through formal legal channels. Exposing victimization experiences already exhausts all physical and mental energy, and survivors often have to bear social public opinion and even "judicial retaliation" from perpetrators under the guise of defamation or impairment of reputation. This phenomenon is a concrete manifestation of SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) on gender issues. Perpetrators subject the parties involved to exorbitant legal costs and psychological pressure through lawsuits, creating a chilling effect in society. Even though we have promoted legal amendments, the system still cannot fully shoulder these unfolding realities.
Therefore, the Judicial Reform Foundation has produced the self-help manual titled "What to Do If You Are Sued for Defamation After Exposing #MeToo?", compiling regulatory analysis and response experiences in the hope that those experiencing "retaliatory litigation" will no longer fight alone. We also continue to monitor the SLAPP phenomenon in Taiwan's gender movement, reminding society and the judicial system that the system should not become a tool of oppression, and this crisis of "silencing through litigation" cannot be ignored.
This issue of the e-paper will focus on the real plight of survivors and the current judicial status in the post-#MeToo era, as well as potential paths for self-help and support. We hope to bring a bit of warmth and strength to all those who have spoken out, are speaking out, or are still struggling.
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Gaps Outside the System: Huang, Chi-Yu and the Unfinished Dialogue of #MeToo
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From Speaking Out to Being Sued: Li Tzu-tung and the Institutional Collision Behind #MeToo
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Is the Law on the Side of the Egg? Domestic and International Observations and Reflections on Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP)
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Self-Help Manual | What to Do If You Are Sued for Defamation After Exposing #MeToo?
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Sidelights | What Era Is It and Students Are Still Playing "Aluba(happy corner)"?!
Text | Hua Ching-ho
Photography | Hsieh Chia-chen, Li Chao-yen
In 2014, Huang, Chi-Yu was verbally and physically harassed by attorney Li Huai-nung. Years later, amidst the #MeToo wave, she chose to bravely make a public disclosure and filed a complaint with the Taipei Bar Association. However, this move resulted in her being sued for defamation by the perpetrator, leaving the victim to bear the tedious judicial procedures and psychological pressure entirely on her own.
Chi-Yu story not only highlights the limitations and gaps of current laws when dealing with gender cases, but also shows us that when the system fails to respond to real trauma and injustice, those who have the courage to tell their experiences often have to bear the heavy pressure brought by the entire structure all by themselves.
Text | Chao Min
Photography | Li Chao-yen
Many stories were heard during the #MeToo wave, but some people fell into judicial predicaments after speaking out. Tzu-tung is not a victim; she is a witness, yet because she exposed a sexual harassment incident on social media, she was sued for defamation by the perpetrator, becoming one of seven defendants. During the lengthy litigation process, she not only faced the challenge of gathering evidence, but also personally experienced questioning and disparagement by the prosecutor. This experience made her realize that when people try to speak out about things that are not seen, the system is not always ready to catch them.
Text | Chuang Tzu-hsuan, Lin Cheng-ching, Chou Yü-hsiu, Lin Chün-yi
Editor | Li Ming-ju
Photography | Hsieh Chia-chen, Miffy Jiang
SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) refers to the use of litigation as a tool to suppress public participation and freedom of speech, silencing critics through exorbitant litigation costs and pressure. Such practices have long had precedents in environmental, labor, and social movement circles; following the #MeToo movement, sexual violence cases have also become the front lines of being suppressed through abused litigation.
This article starts from domestic and international experiences to discuss the impact of SLapp on Taiwan's public discourse and gender movement, and reflects on whether current regulations are truly capable of responding to social changes and trauma.
Compilation Team | Gender Judicial Reform Committee, Judicial Reform Foundation
The #MeToo movement uncovered the dark corners of sexual violence, but it also caused survivors to plunge into the abyss of judicial backlash. When accusations exposing sexual harassment are distorted into the crime of "defamation," the law not only fails to bring justice to victims, but instead becomes a weapon of power suppression for perpetrators.
Over 30% of #MeToo parties have been sued by perpetrators for criminal defamation or civil damages, forcing them to repeatedly prove their scars amidst evidentiary dilemmas. We produced this manual hoping to provide parties involved with preliminary direction, helping them understand basic legal requirements and judicial procedures to slightly alleviate the anxiety brought by this process.
Text | Hung Yu-ting, Wu Nien-chen, Li Ming-ju
During the amendment of laws regarding sexual and private imagery in 2021, the JRF Gender Committee was officially established. Following the outbreak of the #MeToo movement in 2023, we actively monitored government gender equality mechanisms and assisted victimized cases. However, as the proportion of exposed child and youth sexual exploitation cases has increased in recent years and the victim age for digital sexual violence has decreased, we hope to start from education, bring gender issues into campuses, and make "prevention better than cure."
This lecture combined the front-line observations of educators and lawyers, sharing the real dilemmas of educational workers and the frustrations of victims in seeking judicial relief, while emphasizing the importance of gender education entering campuses. In the second half of 2025, the JRF will also develop a gender equality simulated courtroom script, hoping to cultivate students' correct gender awareness through practical simulations and lay down roots for gender justice in Taiwan.
This article is an AI-generated translation of the original Chinese text. In the event of any discrepancy, the Chinese version shall prevail.