Lawmakers and advocacy groups are calling for improvements to anti-stalking
laws, three years after they went into effect.

DPP legislator Fan Yun says current laws fail to meet its original goals of
preventing stalking and protecting victims, pointing out that its definition
of stalking requires actions to be "sexual or gender-related".

Fan says this can lead to police not accepting cases or prosecutors not
indicting stalkers, leaving victims unprotected.

In addition, the lawmaker says it takes an average of 34 days for a court to
issue a protection order after the victim applies, and even after the order
is issued, stalkers can still acquire victim's addresses and phone numbers.

Advocacy groups say more robust legal measures and enforcement are needed for
severe and ongoing stalking cases.

They are calling for emergency protection orders for victims, revisiting the
law's definition of stalking, and more.

(NS)