Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam chairs the second meeting of the National Committee for Children on March 22(Photo: VNA) Many opinions said the abuse of childrenis still dealt with on a case-by-case basis, and the revision of legal documentsso as to correct out-of-date regulations or close existing loopholes has notreceived due attention.
In a report to the meeting,Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Ha said socio-politicaland social organisations have played a greater role in providing childrenprotection services and supporting children victims of violence and sexual abuse.
She said last year the national childrenprotection hotline 111 provided consultation for 27,407 cases and interferencehelp in 806 cases. The Vietnam Association for Protection of Children’s Rightreceived petitions and joined in the handling of 41 cases, with nearly half ofthem related to abuse of children and 30 percent related to disputes in childcustody.
However, violence against and abuseof children are still reported in most provinces and cities, with 1,356 casesdiscovered in 2018. Child injuries and deaths due to accidents remain at highlevels, particularly in road and drowning accidents, with the most recent caseinvolving the drowning of eight children in the northern province of Hoa Binhon March 21.
Chairwoman of the VietnamAssociation for Protection of Children’s Right Nguyen Thi Thanh Hoa noted that theawareness of families and children about their responsibility for ensuringchildren’s rights. They also lack skills about preventing and handling violenceagainst and sexual abuse of children.
Hoa recommended providing bookson children’s rights and measures to protect children for school libraries, andtightening supervision work at grassroots levels. She also urged building child-friendlyprocedures to encourage families and children to report incidents toauthorities.
Deputy Prime Minister and Chairmanof the National Committee for Children Vu Duc Dam assigned the labour-invalids-socialaffairs, medical and educational sectors to work with youth and women’sorganisations to build child protection networks in communes and wards.
He instructed the NationalCommittee for Children to hold thematic conferences to share experience andskills in child protection and discuss new issues such as the child-friendlyinvestigation model and children’s courts.
The Deputy PM also singled outseveral issues that need focus in the time ahead, including violence against childrenin preschools and primary schools, violence and sexual abuse of children atjunior and senior high schools, and the use of drugs among students, amongothers.-VNA
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