The event was co-hosted by the Vietnamese Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA), and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

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At the seminar (Photo: MoLISA)

Approved by the Prime Minister, the program on gender-based violence prevention and response set a target that by 2025, at least 50 percent of gender-based violence victims will receive support from service suppliers and all having demand will be assisted in various forms.

Participants shared experience in building inter-sectoral coordination mechanisms in support of victims via the launch of Anh Duong (Sunshine) House, a shelter providing essential services to survivors of violence against women and girls based in the northern province of Quang Ninh.

The model is the first of its kind in Vietnam within the framework of the cooperation programme between MoLISA and UNFPA which is funded by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).

UNFPA Representative in Vietnam Naomi Kitahara hailed MoLISA and relevant agencies for their achievements in dealing with gender-based violence over the past five years.

She suggested that more initiatives should be outlined to encourage the involvement of young people in the effort while similar models should be multiplied.

UNFPA called on the Government to issue better cooperation mechanisms in various fields to strengthen intervention activities in a bid to end violence against women, she said.

A 2019 survey by MoLISA and the General Statistics Office showed that 62.9 percent of Vietnamese women had suffered from one or different forms of violence and 90.4 percent of gender-based violence victims did not seek any support from authorities and half of them never shared their plights with anyone. Economic loss caused by violence against women accounted for 1.81 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.

Source: VNA