The United Nations (UN) pledged further support for Vietnam in dealing with all forms of gender-based violence against women and girls, including physical, emotional, sexual abuse and human trafficking.

Arthur Erken, a representative from the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), made the commitment at a workshop in Hanoi on December 15 to design a gender-based violence prevention project in 2016-2020 with a vision to 2030.

The UN recognised the Vietnamese Government’s leadership and development partners’ support in raising the social status of women and thus promoting gender equality, he said.

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Over the past years, Vietnam has worked hard to build a legal framework and implement intervention measures to protect the victims of violence and punish violent behaviour, according to Deputy Minister of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs Doan Mau Diep.

However there remain gaps in the field, which requires a wide-ranging programme on gender-based violence prevention and control as well as closer coordination among the parties involved, Diep said.

The project will be submitted to the Prime Minister for approval next year. Its outcomes are expected to help Vietnam fulfill the commitments to the Millennium Development Goals and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), he added.

Participants called for raising public awareness of the issue and bolstering cooperation with international partners in the drive.

National statistics showed that 58 percent of married women experienced at least one form of domestic violence in their lifetime while 87 percent did not seek any assistance from authorities or public services.

Source: VNA