Protecting children from violence

Join hands to reduce child abuse

Every day, hotline 111, managed by the Department of Children under the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, directly receives and processes information, notifications, and denunciations of risks and acts of child abuse from agencies, organizations, educational institutions, families, and individuals via phone, and checks initial denunciation information. In 20 years of operation (2004 - 2024), the hotline has received nearly 6 million incoming calls, of which 496,183 cases were consulted and supported, and more than 10,900 cases of children being abused, subjected to violence, and trafficked...

Statistics show that the number of calls about child abuse and violence has increased dramatically in recent years. From 2019 to present, calls about this issue have accounted for an average of over 50%. In particular, in the cases intervened by the Call Center, the proportion of abuse and violence cases is high, with 45.28% being cases of violence and 24.31% being cases of sexual abuse.

According to a report by the Ministry of Public Security, in the first 8 months of 2024, 1,198 cases with 1,419 defendants were investigated and prosecuted nationwide for acts of child abuse and violence, and 48 cases and 125 subjects were administratively handled. Of these, 188 cases involved using social networks to get acquainted with children for abuse. In addition, school violence also occurs frequently.

Dr. Ngo Anh Vinh, Deputy Head of the Department of Adolescent Health (National Children’s Hospital), said: “The situation of child violence in the family is increasing in both quantity and severity. This is no longer a problem of the family alone but of the whole society. Awareness of the seriousness and long-term consequences of domestic violence against children has not been properly warned.”

Dr. Ngo Anh Vinh cannot forget the case of a 13-year-old girl who committed suicide by drinking pesticide because she was so angry at being beaten by her mother and sister that she acted so foolishly. The image of the child being rushed to the emergency room in critical condition, caused only by domestic violence, is something the doctor cannot forget.

Dr. Vinh said: "The incident happened during the COVID-19 pandemic. The girl was studying online at school so she was often at home. Outside of school, she often went online to watch movies and other social networking sites. Therefore, her mother was worried and asked her to always open the door to her room so that everyone could always monitor her.

I was not happy about this because I thought I was grown up and needed my own private space. Therefore, every time I came home, I closed the door and did not follow my mother's request. This made my mother angry because she thought her child did not know how to listen, so she beat me to "discipline" me.

In addition, my sister also joined my mother and beat me. I felt extremely painful physically and mentally, feeling very hurt because my family members did not share, protect me but also tortured me. Therefore, I bought pesticide and drank it to commit suicide. Fortunately, I was discovered early and taken to the hospital for timely emergency treatment.

After successful first aid, the doctors assessed that the patient had psychological trauma and needed supportive treatment. In addition, the doctors and psychologists also met with the family to discuss and provide guidance on child education. After a period of psychological therapy, the child's mental condition improved and he was discharged from the hospital to continue studying and reintegrating into the community. However, the doctors were also worried about the child's future because if domestic violence continued to occur when he returned home, it would be inevitable that the child would choose death and the consequences next time would be even more heartbreaking.

Ensure child safety, prevent abuse

In recent years, violence against children in the family and in society has been increasing in both quantity and severity. Many cases of violence have been brought to light, but many have not been exposed. Children are subjected to violence from torture, abuse, beating; physical and health abuse; insults, insults to honor and dignity; isolation, ostracism to other intentional acts that cause physical and mental harm to children.

Most recently, public opinion was outraged by the child abuse that took place at the Hoa Hong shelter on To Ky Street, District 12, Ho Chi Minh City. The Hoa shelter is owned by Ms. Giap Thi Song Huong. It is said to be home to about 100 orphans, and is also advertised as a place to take care of pregnant mothers in difficult circumstances and homeless elderly people.

However, the press has reported that the orphanage at Hoa Hong orphanage is a “hell on earth”. It is only allowed to take care of 39 children but in reality it takes care of 86 children, sometimes up to nearly 100. This serious overload has led to abuse of young children, many of whom are only a few months old.

Mr. Dang Hoa Nam, Director of the Department of Children (Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs) was indignant at the behavior of the nannies at the Hoa Hong shelter: "Child abuse should not have been allowed to happen, but it happened at the non-public child care facility, the Hoa Hong shelter. After the cases of child abuse, it shows that we lack a network of specialized social collaborators. If we only rely on the inspection and examination team, it will be very difficult to detect child abuse, while human resources are limited and the number of facilities related to child care is too large."

“Raise social awareness, strengthen the responsibility of families, schools, and communities about the consequences of violence against children; Focus on supporting and providing knowledge on child-rearing for parents, caregivers, and families; Promote communication, provide knowledge about the effects of violence on children, identify the responsibilities of families, society, and communities in caring for and protecting children; Strengthen close coordination between schools - families - society in managing, educating, and protecting children; Organize communication in the community to address the issue of violence against children.

It must be affirmed that violence against children is unacceptable but can be prevented. Protecting children from violence is everyone's responsibility. Speak out against violence against children, do not let children suffer the serious consequences caused by violence; Coordinate effectively, monitor the implementation of the legal system on child protection, clearly define the authority, responsibility and role of state agencies, social organizations, schools, families and individuals in protecting and caring for children, meeting the needs of care and safety for all children", Dr. Ngo Anh Vinh proposed solutions to protect children from violence.

In fact, there are many agencies that are carrying out child protection work, but the connection and coordination are not tight, leading to many loopholes. There are cases that have been detected but have not been handled properly and promptly, leading to other unfortunate incidents. There are even cases that have been reported but the handling has not been carried out and only when the incident is discovered and public opinion speaks out, do the authorities intervene. Everyone needs to raise the spirit of joining hands to prevent child abuse.