Knowledge, cooperation can prevent sexual abuse in schools
The workshop was held by Kenan Institute Asia, as part of the US State Department-funded Vietnam Women Improving Lives and Leadership (Vietnam WILL) Project, which works to build the capacity of Vietnamese civil society organisations and public agencies serving the needs of women.
Nguyen Duc Manh, Head of the Institute for Population, Family and Children Studies, cited the latest statistics, according to which, each year, on average, there are some 1,000 child sexual abuse cases in
“The development of means of communication is one of the leading causes of increasing child sexual abuse,” he said.
He said up to 45 million people in
“Students use mobile phones and the Internet for networking. ’Bad’ guys use this habit to lure and cheat students,” he said.
Nguyen Luong Thien, a teacher at
“Students’ access to sexual abuse knowledge is limited. They are not even aware about their right to be protected when they raise their voice in case of sexual abuse,” she said.
“In addition, families and schools are not equipping students with self-protection skills.”
Doctor Nguyen Tung Lam, Chairman of the Hanoi Education Psychology Association, said sexual abuse leaves an extremely harmful effect on students. In other countries, child sexual abuse offences are subject to heavy penalties and punishment.
“Teachers and families must have psychological knowledge to help sexually abused children overcome the trauma,” he said.
At the workshop, psychological experts, parents, teachers and students of
Measures rolled out by students include being proactive in searching for information about self-defence skills to protect themselves from sexual abuse, In addition, schools should organise sex education lessons, not only for students but also for teachers and parents.
Other suggestions included introducing hotlines to report sexual abuse or to consult and answer students’ queries. Each school was advised to have a psychological consultant room.-VNA