IMPROVE EFFECTIVENESS IN THE PREVENTION OF GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
Ms. Duong Thi Ngoc Linh, Member of the Presidium - Central Vietnam Women's Union, Director of the Center for Women and Development, attended and contributed ideas at the Workshop "Sharing Australia and Vietnam's experiences in Empowerment of Women" on April 11 in Hanoi
Vietnam is assessed as having many positive results in narrowing the gender gap, especially in the fields of labor, employment, health care, education..., which is recognized and rated by the international community as one in 10 countries that best implement the goals of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
However, at present, violence against women and girls still takes place seriously, which is considered a major obstacle in promoting gender equality and building a progressive and civilized society in Vietnam; it has a negative impact on victims, families and communities.
Participating in that violence prevention, the Center for Women and Development (Vietnam Women's Union) has joined the whole society in contributing to ending violence and abuse of women and girls.
Vietnam Women's Newspaper had a talk with Ms. Duong Thi Ngoc Linh, Member of the Presidium - Central Vietnam Women's Union, Director of the Center for Women and Development, about cooperation activities to improve effectiveness in the prevention of gender-based violence against women.
Delegates attended the Workshop "Sharing Australia and Vietnam's experiences on Empowerment of Women" on April 11 in Hanoi.
- Domestic violence is still a concern among the whole society. Could you please share some information regarding this issue?
Ms. Duong Thi Ngoc Linh: According to the National Survey Report on Violence against Women in Vietnam in 2019, nearly 2 out of 3 women (nearly 63%) suffer from 1 or more forms of physical, sexual, emotional, and economic violence as well as behavioral control caused by husbands in life, and nearly 32% of women are experiencing violence (in the last 12 months).
Violence against women has serious consequences for women's economic development and physical and mental health. It is estimated that the economic damage caused by violence to the Vietnamese economy is equivalent to 1.8% of GDP. Therefore, joining hands to end violence and abuse against women and girls is a matter of concern among the whole society.
- As a unit assigned by the Central Vietnam Women's Union to develop social models to help women and children, what activities has the Center for Women and Development participated in to prevent violence against women?
Ms. Duong Thi Ngoc Linh: To prevent that violence, during its development since 2007, Center for Women and Development with the mission of providing services to support the comprehensive development of women, has been assigned by the Central Vietnam Women's Union to develop supportive social models such as Peace House – a safe haven for women and children victims of human trafficking, domestic violence and sexual abuse.
Up to now, Peace House has provided more than 26,000 direct consultations (via the Call center 1900969680 and hotlines), 20,000 people and nearly 17,000 consultations; it has provided shelter for 1,619 temporary residents of 17 ethnic groups from 56/63 provinces/cities. Peace House has 2 campuses in Hanoi, 1 campus in Can Tho.
Peace House - a safe haven for women and children victims of human trafficking, domestic violence and sexual abuse.
- It is known that in addition to the companionship of associations at all levels, the Center for Women and Development also receives support from other organizations to operate more effectively?
Ms. Duong Thi Ngoc Linh: Over the years, we have received valuable support from many agencies and organizations, including the Australian Government. The Australian Government has provided considerable technical, financial, and human resource support as well as changing and improving social services to support women and children throughout their development, including outstanding projects such as:
- Project "Enhancing human resource capacity in Vietnam: Providing effective services for the prevention of gender-based violence and human trafficking" under the Australian Government Partnerships for Development (GPFD), Flinders University in South Australia partnered with the Vietnam Women's Union, from 2014 to 2017, to promote support for abused women and children, including capacity building and training, and improvement of Shelter and Counseling services.
- Project "Supporting interventions to eliminate violence against women and children in Vietnam in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic" was implemented from May 2020 to May 2021. The project is coordinated by UNFPA, UNICEF and UN Women, together with the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Education and Training, the Vietnam Farmers' Union, and the Vietnam Women's Union and other relevant parties. The project's objective is to strengthen national prevention and response mechanisms to address violence against women and children in the context of Covid-19.
- Project "Eliminating violence against women and children in Vietnam" is implemented from June 2021 to July 2025. This project aims to achieve the goal: all women and children in Vietnam, including the vulnerable, can live a life free of violence through strengthening prevention strategies and multi-sectoral responses.
Ms. Duong Thi Ngoc Linh, Member of the Presidium - Central Vietnam Women's Union, Director of the Center for Women and Development, attended and contributed ideas at the Workshop "Sharing Australia and Vietnam's experiences on Empowerment of Women"
- Through these programs and projects, what results have been achieved in the prevention of gender-based violence of the Center for Women and Development - Vietnam Women's Union?
Ms. Duong Thi Ngoc Linh: The fight against gender-based violence has achieved some remarkable results in various aspects, including:
Firstly, improving human resource capacity to provide effective services in the prevention of gender-based violence and human trafficking.
The cooperation program has trained 65 leaders and employees of the Center, Vietnam Women's Union and related agencies, organized into 3 courses: 2014 training in Australia; 2015 training in Da Nang; in 2016 advanced training in Australia (2 weeks each), with follow-up support (supportive supervision), including: Peace House Management; Support for counselors; Monitoring support for data management issues.
The 65 participants successfully implemented more than 35 individual and group action plans on the following activities: workshop on the negative impact of domestic violence on children; communication in the community about the impact of domestic violence on women and children; applying new media such as Facebook, clips to raise community awareness in prevention/response to gender-based violence; coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security in organizing training programs on gender violence prevention for students of the Police Academy; programs to raise community awareness on human trafficking prevention in Meo Vac and Ha Giang provinces; Building the Peace Coffee brand at the Center for Women and Development – which is an open consultation model on issues related to family happiness, women's empowerment in the community….
Second, Provide Technical Support to improve the quality of support services for women and children who are victims of gender-based violence (including domestic violence and human trafficking) at Peace House.
Develop and guide the use of Central level gender-based violence prevention handbook, and expand the development of a handbook on gender-based violence prevention at the grassroots level for counselors, social workers and Women's Union officials.; apply institutional management by professionally managing gender-based violence data through a database system. Guiding and training counselors and social workers at 2 Peace Houses and in 8 provinces on how to collect, use and analyze information from the database system. Build and Develop hotline to become Call center 1900969680 - providing counseling on gender-based violence at the Counseling Room of the Center for Women and Development and in 8 key provinces.
With the upgrade to a Call Center, women and children experiencing violence can call 1900969680 for 24/7 timely support. Enhance access to quality essential services for victims, improve the facilities of related social services and 3 Peace Houses in Can Tho and Hanoi, in the context of Covid- 19, to ensure that essential services supporting women and children experiencing violence are enhanced and not interrupted. In addition to providing equipment, the project also focuses on improving the capacity of social workers on hotlines and in Peace House in order to enhance emergency response to increased violence.
Overview of the Workshop
Third, implement awareness-raising communication. From 2015 to now, the Center for Women and Development has organized annual communication campaigns named "White Ribbon Breakfast", Educational Concert... with the aim of raising awareness; promoting the roles and responsibilities, as well as increasing the participation of male leaders, in order to build positive social standards, attitudes and behaviors, speak out to prevent discrimination and violence against women and girls.
- What suggestions do you have in the coming time to improve effectiveness in the prevention of gender-based violence against women and children?
Ms. Duong Thi Ngoc Linh: In order to continue to improve the work of supporting women and children experiencing gender-based violence and Peace House activities, the Center hopes to continue receiving support from the Australian Government for the following activities:
- Support communication activities to strengthen the propaganda, thus raising awareness of women and the people on promoting gender equality, preventing and combating gender-based violence; so that the community can speak up to ensure the safety of women and children.
- Build capacity for Women's Union staff at all levels in handling and responding to cases of gender-based violence against women in the community.
- Pay attention to and support resources to maintain and expand the model of Peace House in other regions of the country, and especially upgrading to a National Call center to support women.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
