Legislators convene session on child abuse

Hanoi (VNA) - The National Assembly (NA)’s committees for culture-education, justice, and social affairs on February 22 convened a session to discuss and put forth solutions for violence against children that shocked the public recently.

Chairing the function, Politburo member and Permanent NA Vice Chairman Tran Thanh Man said it reflects the law-making body’s responsibilities for issues of concerns among constituents, people, and the public opinion; and supervises the implementation of the NA’s regulation on the protection and education of the children.

Man requested a clear analysis of causes of the child abuse issue and responsibilities of agencies involved, and called for proposals and recommendations for the Party, NA, and Government to complete and better implement the law on anti-violence against children.

He also asked NA’s relevant units to study and propose the Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs (MoLISA) conduct a comprehensive review of children at risk of violence across the country.

According to the MoLISA’s report at the session, in 2021, the Ministry of Public Security detected 1,914 child abuse cases nationwide, an annual decrease of 31 cases. However, there were a number of severe cases that outraged the public took place.

Meanwhile, child protection, particularly against domestic violence, had yet to receive adequate attention. A report by the helpline 111, an emergency telephone number for child protection, said children abused by their relatives accounted for the lion’s share of the total cases last year, at 72.84 percent, which represented an annual increase of 5.3 percent.

The MoLISA’s report also pointed to a number of causes, including inadequate investment of resources for the child protection works, the moral degradation of a section of the society, and the emergence of mental health and psychosocial problems among part of the population.

It suggested amending and supplementing current regulations for child protection; issuing policies for the care of orphans, particularly those victimised by the pandemic; and building a programme to ease COVID-19 impacts on children, among other solutions./.