Wednesday, June 16, 2010

When is a person's body part not private?

This caught my attention:
The district court found Chang guilty of sexual harassment and sentenced him to 40 days’ ­detention on the grounds that his actions constituted “touching another’s hips, breasts or other private body parts before one can resist,” as stipulated in the Sexual Harassment Prevention Act (性騷擾防治法).

The High Court, however, overturned the lower court’s ruling in the second trial, saying that as women often expose their shoulders or waist in summertime, shoulders and waists should not be considered private body parts like breasts, hips and genitalia. As the defendant did not touch those private parts, his actions did not constitute sexual harassment, the High Court said. Tuesday’s verdict was final.
So ...
  1. If you touch a woman AFTER she resists is it still sexual harassment?
  2. If a woman's waist and shoulders are not 'private', are they publicly owned?
Reductio ad absurdum ... How about a clearer rule?: Don't touch what you don't have permission to touch.

Judge: Are you in an intimate relationship with the plaintiff?

Defendant: No.

Judge: Did the plaintiff give you permission to touch her/him?

Defendant: No.

Judge: Guilty. Damages are awarded to the plaintiff. Please sincerely apologise and proceed to the clerk to pay your fine.