People hold placards in front of a court hall to call for justice for an eight-year-old girl beaten to death by her father's girlfriend. (Photo: VNA) This came in the wake of a recent spike in cases of childviolence and abuse, causing serious complications in their physical and socialdevelopment, that shocked the public.
To minimise damage and ensure children’s rights andinterests, the ministry has asked people’s committees in provinces and citiesto implement a rigourous system to comprehensively prevent and combatviolence and child abuse.
It has been proposed for communes to implement child protectionmeasures, prioritising the allocation of resources to ensure timelyintervention and support for children that are victims of violence andabuse, and assigning the local interdisciplinary organisations -particularly the child protection body - the responsibility of protectingchildren and looking out for signs of abuse.
The ministry has also requested commune-level childprotection groups to be active participants in grasping a comprehensiveunderstanding of familial situations or environments that show signs ofpossible risks of violence and abuse, especially amongst children living infamilies with divorced or separated parents, or parents who work faraway or have criminal records.
Following the proposal, local authorities should push for furthereducation and dissemination of morals, lifestyles and appropriatebehaviours in families, as well as the responsibility taken by adults to set anexample for children.
Efforts should be made to instruct families, educationalinstitutions, and children on identifying and notifying authoritiesabout violence and abuse, especially in situations where parents,relatives or caregivers infringe upon the life, spirit and dignity of thechild.
The ministry also asked local authorities to be more prompt inretrieving and processing information or notifications of risks or acts ofviolence and child abuse, strengthen the inspection and examination ofpotential violence and child abuse cases in the local areas andlend further support to young victims.
Local authorities have the responsibility to detect and handle suchcases of child maltreatment, and hold agencies, organisations and individualsaccountable should they attempt to conceal, irresponsibly handle, fail tonotify and denounce acts of violence and child abuse./.
VNA
