The death of Yeh Yung-chih due to anti-gender-nonconformity bullying prompted Taiwan to enact the Gender Equity Education Act in 2004.
Key Facts
- Victim
- Yeh Yung-chih, third-grade student
- School
- Gao-Shu Junior High School
- Date of incident
- April 20, 2000
- Time victim left classroom
- 11:42
- Legislation enacted
- Gender Equity Education Act
- Year of legislative change
- 2004
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Yeh Yung-chih was a junior high school student known for gender nonconformity, which made him a target of persistent bullying by classmates at Gao-Shu Junior High School in Pingtung County, Taiwan. This hostile environment placed him at ongoing risk of harm on school grounds.
On April 20, 2000, Yeh left his classroom early at 11:42 to use the bathroom and was subsequently found seriously injured and lying in a pool of blood. He was transported to a local hospital, where he died from his injuries, drawing national attention to the dangers faced by gender-nonconforming students.
The incident sparked broad public debate about gender education in Taiwan. In 2004, the government revised the existing 'Both Genders Equality Education Act' to the 'Gender Equity Education Act,' broadening its scope beyond a binary conception of sex toward a more inclusive framework of gender equality education in schools.