Gender issues should be educated at schools and families as soon as possible (Illustrative image. Source: VNA) Deputy Director of the Research and Training Centrefor Community Development Nguyen Trong An, also former deputy head of theMinistry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs’ Department of Child Care andProtection, said many parents and children lack knowledge about the issue.
Therefore, some child victims do not know theyare being abused and some abusers are unaware they are breaking the law.
The 2016 Child Law stipulates that child sexualabuse is using force, threat to use force, obliging or seducing children tojoin sexual activity, including rape, sexual intercourse and obscenity or usingchildren for prostitution or pornography in any form.
In Vietnam, child sexual abuse is on the rise inrecent years, he said, citing statistics from the Ministry of Public Securitythat more than 1,000 cases were reported each year in the 2008-2011 period. Thefigure in 2012 was 1,400 and rose to 1,500-1,700 between 2014 and 2015.
Abuse could be more common than reported due to poorinformation and data collection in localities, he said, adding that childsexual abuse causes serious physical and psychological harm on children.
According to a survey conducted by the UnitedNations Children’s Fund in 2011, up to 60 percent of children suffer frommental disorders after sexual abuse. The victims feel ashamed, guilty or livein fear and with a lot of stress, making it difficult for them to concentrateon learning and making them want to get away from other people.
Additionally, sexual child abuse victims face arisk of contracting dangerous infections, including HIV.
An pointed out reasons behind the increase inchild sexual abuse, including the negative impacts of the market economy andpoor family education.
Many parents pay little attention to theirchildren and lack knowledge about children’s rights and skills for childprotection and prevention of sexual violence and abuse.
Meanwhile, education at school focuses much moreon academic knowledge than on moral education and life skills for students.
Another reason is the insufficientcommunity-based network to protect and care for children as well as animperfect child protection system.
PhD. Khuat Thu Hong from the Institute forSocial Development Studies said gender inequality is the underlying cause ofchild sexual abuse and is also a cultural barrier that has caused sexualviolence against women and children to rise.
She noted that Vietnam was one of the firstnations to sign the International Convention on the Rights of the Child in1990. The country also has laws on children and progressive policies and legalregulations on child protection.
However, tardy law enforcement in the field aswell as the indifference of some officials has swept some child sexual abuseand violence cases under the rug.
Many cases are addressed with “reconciliation”even when there are criminal acts, she said, adding that several victims sufferfrequent sexual abuse and violence due to slack legal procedures and loopholes.
Lawyer Le The Nhan, Chairman of the Centre forCommunity Development and Social Work, suggested reviewing the legal system toimprove the protection of human rights, especially the privacy of victims andtheir families.
Doctor Nguyen Trong An said it is necessary toincrease coordination between families and schools to educate them on genderissues and prepare self-protection measures for children.
Parents should be provided with knowledge torecognize child sexual abuse risks while child care agencies need to establisha community-based network to protect children, he recommended.-VNA
VNA
