Efforts stepped up to protect women and children from violence
General view of the signing ceremony for the new joint project “Elimination of Violence against Women and Children in Vietnam 2021-2025”. (Photo: UNFPA) This was underlined at a ceremony held in Hanoi on May 24 to close the joint project “Supporting Interventions to Eliminate Violence against Women and Children in Vietnam under COVID 19 Emergency Context” and to sign the new joint one “Elimination of Violence against Women and Children in Vietnam 2021-2025”.
The outgoing project was co-implemented from May 2020 to May 2021 by the UNFPA, UNICEF and UN Women, in collaboration with several Vietnam's ministries, Vietnam Farmer’s Union, Vietnam Women’s Union, Center for Studies and Applied Sciences in Gender, Family, Women and Adolescents (CSAGA) and other relevant stakeholders. It aimed to strengthen national prevention and response mechanisms to address violence against women and children in the context of COVID-19.
After one year of implementation, the project has achieved a number of significant results. Innovative communication approaches were introduced in more than 100 supermarkets, mini-marts, and pharmacies, the best locations to reach women at risk of violence, while digital technology and social media were fully utilised to increase the public’s understanding of the risk of gender-based violence amid the pandemic.
Protection services were provided through Hotlines run by Anh Duong (Sunshine) House, Peace House (a shelter run by the Vietnam Women's Union), and CSAGA, serving more than 13,000 people for consultations, advice, and referrals. Among them, 832 survivors of violence received direct and catered support from trained staff.
The project also distributed 6,644 dignity kits with 21 essential items to women who undergo and who are at risks of violence in quarantine centers, shelters and lockdown areas in Hanoi, Da Nang, Quang Ninh, Ho Chi Minh City and Hai Duong.
Handover ceremony of essential equipment and facilities held in Peace House Shelters in Hanoi in March 2021. Photo: UN Women/Ngoc Duong
Building on the project’s success, the Government of Australia is now providing AUD9.5 million to support the new project “Elimination of Violence against Women and Children in Vietnam”, which will be implemented from June 2021 to July 2025. This new project has the goal of all women and children in Vietnam, including those most vulnerable, being able to live a life free of violence through strengthened prevention strategies and multisectoral responses.
