Hanoi, April 23, 2021 – The Management and Sustainable Development Institute (MSD), in collaboration with the Vietnam Association for the Protection of Children’s Rights (VACR), conducted an online seminar “Children sexual abuse: Confronting or compromising?". The event was within the framework of “Supporting access to justice for sexually abused children in Hanoi". This project is financially supported by the Judicial Initiatives Promotion Fund (JIFF) – a component of the ODA Project “Strengthening the Law and Justice in Vietnam – EU JULE" funded by the European Union.
The seminar was attended by: Ms. Ninh Thi Hong – Vice President of VACR; Ms. Nguyen Phuong Linh – Executive Director of MSD; Lawyer Dang Van Cuong – Hanoi Bar Association; Ms. Nguyen Khanh Linh – Officer of Peaceful House and representatives from social organizations as well as press agencies.
At the talk show, the speakers discussed and shared insights from the recent situation of children being sexually abused; procedural processes, collecting evidence during the investigation as well as ways to provide psychological support for children who unfortunately become victims of sexual abuse. The talk show has received a lot of positive interactions and messages from the live audience as well as the audience watching via livestream. In particular, the speakers also discussed and answered the concerns of the audience about how to report crimes, the legal corridor to support child victims, evidence-gathering and proceedings for both boys and girls, penalties and ways to prevent pedophilia, the role of the family, schools and teachers in protecting students from sexual abuse, gender stereotypes in child sexual abuse.
The event was the final activity of the campaign “You are safe now, my child." Although the campaign has ended, the journey to protect children from sexual abuse is still ongoing, not slowly but quickly and decisively. Let’s not compromise but confront to protect children from sexual abuse, and help them have a safe environment for healthy development.