HA NOI, 16 January 2018 -  A new project on "Building a Model to respond to Violence Against Women and Girls in Viet Nam" funded by the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) was launched today in Ha Noi.  

Participating in the workshop were Mr. Doan Mau Diep, Vice Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA), Ms. Lee Mi-kyung, President of KOICA, and Ms. Astrid Bant, Representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Viet Nam, together with representatives from MOLISA, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Viet Nam Farmers' Union, other line ministries, representatives from Quang Ninh Peoples' Committee and other provincial agencies, social work centers, UN agencies and both international and local NGOs.

Addressing the event, Mr. Doan Mau Diep, Vice Minister of MOLISA said that over the past years, Viet Nam has made a lot of effort in promoting gender equality and the prevention of violence against women and girls, particularly the successful implementation of the national action month on gender equality and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) organized annually from 15 November to 15 December. The gender gap between women and men is narrowing. However, Viet Nam is still facing a lot of challenges in relation to gender equality, such as: a lack of quality services on GBV prevention and response; Legal, psychological and health care services are not yet effective; Gender stereotypes still exist in the community; and staff's capacity on gender equality and prevention of violence against women and girls is still limited.

The Vice Minister Doang Mau Diep expressed his appreciation to the great support from KOICA and UNFPA in Viet Nam and emphasized that the launch of this project highlights the cooperation between MOLISA, KOICA and UNFPA towards a society where there is zero violence against women and girls.

The President of KOICA, Ms Lee Mi-kyung emphasized that GBV is a reality in both developing and developed countries, affecting women of all socio-economic backgrounds and creating not only personal struggles for its survivors, but also severe consequences on social and economic outcomes. She also added that she is expecting the KOICA funded ODA project to contribute to improving the human rights and protection of women and girls victimized by sexual violence, promoting gender equality and enhancing cooperation between Korea and Viet Nam.

With a total budget of USD2.560.000, of which USD2.500.000 is ODA funded by KOICA, the project will be managed by UNFPA and implemented by the Department for Gender Equality of MOLISA and Quang Ninh Social Work Centre, for the period from 2018 to 2020.

The project's overall objective is to strengthen national and institutional capacity to ensure availability of and accessibility to essential services for GBV survivors through building a pilot Model of Support to respond to Violence Against Women and Girls in Viet Nam, with three specific objectives as follows:

1.    To improve the infrastructure of Quang Ninh Social Work Center (SWC) in order to provide essential services for Gender-Based Violence (GBV) survivors;

2.    To upgrade the technical support of Quang Ninh SWC, including updating its hotline and a software for data recording to provide counseling, support and referral services for GBV  survivors;

3.    To support MOLISA in the development of essential services for GBV survivors through setting up an effective model for health, justice, police, and social services to GBV survivors at Quang Ninh SWC with the long term goal of nationwide application.

Ms. Astrid Bant, UNFPA Representative in Viet Nam highly appreciated the cooperation and commitment of KOICA and MOLISA in promoting gender equality and prevention of GBV and violence against women and girls over the past years. She said: "UNFPA commits to bringing international experience from other countries to make sure that the project's goals and expectations are met and GBV survivors are protected and linked up with supportive services as needed.  I hope this project, based on solid evidence and outcomes achieved from earlier efforts will continue addressing the challenges that lie ahead towards a prosperous, sustainable and safe Viet Nam for all."

At the workshop, the MOLISA representative also shared the overview of GBV in Viet Nam, and the UNFPA representative introduced the essential services for GBV survivors. Participants discussed developing the model to support GBV survivors in Quang Ninh Social Work Centre, which both suits the Vietnamese context and also follows international standards.

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