More protection solutions needed for children and women
27/11/19
While strides are being made to ensure safety for
women and children, more still needs to be done, heard a workshop held by the
Vietnam Women's Union in Hanoi on November 26.
Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai, head of the Family and Society Division under the Vietnam
Women's Union, said provinces and cities across the country have been enhancing
roles and responsibilities in ensuring safety. Many improvements had been made,
but a lot more needs to be done, she said.
Over the past year, the women's union implemented a pilot model of a safe city
in Da Nang and a safe village model in Thanh Hoa, Tuyen Quang and Kien Giang
provinces, with practical activities such as building a happy family, safety on
buses, food safety and building clubs with activities related to family happiness.
According to the official, women and children with disabilities have also
received support. But there are still many problems. In 2017 and 2018, 2,600
cases of sexual abuse against
women were reported nationwide and nearly 2,700 against children.
In addition to the achieved results, Mai said the implementation of the
campaign showed some limitations and difficulties.
Mai said there were also serious concerns over workplace harassment and there
was a negative effect on family life as more and more people migrate for work.
With the national campaign "Safe year for women and
children" in 2020, women's union at all levels should prioritise the
implementation of key activities related to the prevention and fighting against
child abuse, she said.
Regarding child safety, Nguyen Thi Nga, Deputy Director of the Department of
Children under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said from
2011 to June 2019 about five children were victims of domestic violence and
sexual abuse each day.
To protect children, the current implementation of the law on child protection
and child abuse prevention is still limited due to lack of awareness of
children's self-protection responsibilities; lack of basic knowledge and
skills, according to Nga.
Many families did not report or denounce acts of child sexual abuse, leading to
crimes not being handled.
Meanwhile, awareness of responsibility and law enforcement capacity of local
authorities, especially at commune and ward levels, is limited.
In order to protect children from sexual abuse in the future, the deputy
director said laws needed to be reviewed and amended.
Inspection teams should be set up to ensure the implementation of children's
rights, especially at non-public preschool education institutions in industrial
parks and export processing zones.
The authorities needed to increase communication to prevent and combat child abuse,
detect and report acts of violence against women and children and support
health care, legal assistance and counselling.
At the forum, participants exchanged issues related to safety for women and
children in urban and rural areas; shared experiences, initiatives and proposed
solutions to protect women and children in the
current period./.
All comments [ 20 ]
competent agencies must step up their coordination in preventing and handling with child sexual abuse cases
It is crucial to incorporate the enforcement of child rights into socio-economic plans
Vietnam has taken specific action programmes to prevent children from being exploited, sexually abused and trafficked
we must have measure to help children stay away from drugs and crime
bolder actions must be taken to guarantee the safety of women and children as cases of harassment and abuse have rocked the country in recent years.
Violence against women and girls is a violation of human rights
Violence against women and children come in many forms and occur in different spaces, from within the family to among the community
Vietnam has taken many steps to ensure social welfare, protect human rights, particularly of women, and promote gender equality.
Vietnam has multiple legal provisions and provides special care to protect rights of vulnerable children such as orphans, abandoned children, homeless children, children with disabilities and those with HIV
we need to clearly identify the shortcomings and the causes of the shortcomings in enforcing the rights of children and seek solutions to tackle these issues.
The most important factor is to raise public awareness of the issue
it is more challenging to tackle and intervene in sexual assaults against women and girls compared with other forms of violence
sexual violence and harassment are often viewed as a sensitive topic that is difficult to share and discuss in public
There is a fact that people are often skeptical of what a victim has to say, and many turn their backs on victims
Vietnam was the first country in Asia and the second in the world to ratify the International Convention on the Rights of the Chil
Vietnam can be proud of what the nation has achieved in enforcing children’s rights, notably incorporating the convention’s provisions and principles into the national laws, policies and programmes
there is a global need to change people’s attitude on gender-based violence, particularly sexual violence and harassment
women have the special role as the bedrock of family and society,
children are the future of each family, the nation and the whole of humankind.
Vietnam has made many achievements in promoting and protecting the rights of women and children
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