Experts: Families should speak out against child sexual abuses

Hanoi (VNA) - Families of sexually abused children and the community should raise their voice and be resolved in pursuing their cases in order to create a safe and healthy environment for children.   

The view was shared by experts in criminal laws, psychologists and representatives of child protection organisations during a seminar which was held in Hanoi on March 14 in the context that an increasing number of child sexual abuse cases have occurred in Vietnam in the recent past.

The participants discussed ways to promote stakeholders’ role in implementing children’s rights and supervising the enforcement of international conventions of which Vietnam is a signatory to protect children’s rights in particular and human rights in general.

According to the experts, Vietnamese people normally hesitate to talk about issues related sex, rape or child sexual abuse. Slow responses and actions by families, law enforcement agencies and social organisations are blamed for ineffective solutions to the cases, resulting in serious consequences in terms of both psychology and health for the victims and families.

Statistics released by the General Department of Police under the Ministry of Public Security showed that as many as 1,600-1,800 cases of child abuses are reported each year.

Up to 65 percent of victims in 1,000 sexual abuse cases are children and most of them are girls, aged between 12-15. Victims of sexual abuses under six years old account for over 13 percent of the total number.

Most recently, three child sexual abuse cases have been reported in Hanoi, HCM City and Vung Tau city, arousing public concerns.-VNA