A #MeToo movement is sweeping through Taiwan – thanks to ‘Wave Makers’ on Netflix

Sparked by a Netflix hit, a #MeToo movement has taken Taiwan by storm, affecting politics, academia and the entertainment world. Although the island nation is counted among Asia’s most progressive democracies, the recent cases show gender inequality remains a problem.

Wave Makers, a 2023 intense Taiwanese political drama on Netflix, is said to have triggered the movement. It has encouraged a number of victims to come forward and speak about their sexual harassment experiences. The show has brought a noteworthy change in attitudes.

Often afraid of retribution, many victims didn’t dare to come forward earlier. But since the movement started, the Garden of Eden Foundation has seen a tenfold rise in sexual harassment complaints, the leading women’s rights group told CNA.

Changing Attitudes And Greater Encouragement

Interpreter Jenny Chang was having a work discussion with her male colleague earlier this year, when he suddenly brushed through her hair intimately. There was no one around and she wasn’t sure if there was a surveillance camera, the 31-year-old told the news agency.

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Chang ran away immediately. But afraid nobody would believe her and filing a complaint might cost her her job, she kept silent. Since the incident, she has tried to avoid the perpetrator, like not making eye contact with him.

But the ongoing #MeToo movement has brought a change in attitudes, the interpreter said. “If you speak up now, more people will believe you,” she stressed, adding the change seen across Taiwanese society encourages more victims of workplace harassment to speak up.

Movement Prompts Legislators To Deal With Loopholes In Current Laws

The movement started this year after a female staffer from the ruling political party revealed how her supervisor rejected her sexual harassment complaint. Her online post swiftly went viral, compelling the supervisor to quit and Taiwan’s vice-president to make a public apology.

The movement subsequently proliferated across society, involving doctors, professors and celebrities. The huge number of complaints has prompted legislators to deal with loopholes in current laws and push for an amendment to the Act of Gender Equality in Employment.