Ho Chi Minh City, 21 June 2022: Two additional, safe and reliable centres have been launched in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang City to serve survivors of gender-based and domestic violence, which is accessible 24/7 with a hotline number 02433335599.

With financial contribution from the Government of Japan, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Viet Nam contracted the Centre for Studies and Applied Sciences in Gender – Family – Women and Adolescents (CSAGA) to establish a One Stop Service Centre (OSSC) in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang City to provide integrated and essential services to survivors of gender-based and domestic violence. Those who are from neighbouring provinces can also receive services from the centres.

An OSSC, which is called in Viet Nam as “Anh Duong House (Sunshine House),” is to detect, prevent, and support survivors of violence. It was first opened in Quang Ninh in April 2020 by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) with technical and financial support from UNFPA in partnership with KOICA. And early this year, MOLISA kicked off another Anh Duong House in Thanh Hoa with support from UNFPA in partnership with the Government of Japan. The two new OSSCs are an attempt to try out a new model by CSAGA, while earlier two OSSCs are based on the social protection centres under MOLISA.

The Anh Duong House provides essential, comprehensive, and integrated services to women and girls who are experiencing and/or at risk of gender-based and domestic violence. It provides a wide range of services, meeting international standards, including health care, psychological support, counselling, social welfare services, emergency shelters, police protection, legal and justice services, and referrals. All services provided at the OSSC are based on the survivor-centred principle, in which survivors are treated with respect and dignity, and assured of privacy and confidentiality.

The Anh Duong House in Quang Ninh and Thanh Hoa has so far accommodated more than 450 women and children, who are the survivors of gender-based and domestic violence. The Centres’ hotlines, which is also available 24/7 free of charge, is receiving more than 1,000 calls a month per centre, which is already beyond the original capacity. Therefore, additional centres were called for to help more survivors of violence.

In her remarks at the opening of the two Anh Duong Houses, Ms Naomi Kitahara, UNFPA Representative for Viet Nam, stressed that UNFPA and CSAGA share the same mission, which is to promote women’s rights and gender equality and support vulnerable groups, particularly survivors of gender-based and domestic violence.

Ms. Naomi Kitahara said: “Ending gender-based violence and harmful practices against women and girls is one of the three transformative agenda of UNFPA’s corporate Strategic Plan. In Vietnam, UNFPA has been accompanying the Government of Viet Nam in the path to ending violence against women and girls. Towards this goal, we also partner with a variety of organisations including CSAGA, as we want to be able to reach out as many women and girls as possible. We want to ensure that all women and girls in Viet Nam, including those most vulnerable, have the right to live a life free of violence and with dignity.”

Since its establishment in 2001, CSAGA’s core values include responsibility, truthfulness and cooperation. With its experience in relation to gender-based violence and with its close partnerships with local and international organisations and government agencies at all levels, CSAGA is confident in managing the Anh Duong Houses in these two cities to support people suffering from gender-based and domestic violence.

CSAGA Director, Nguyen Van Anh stressed: “We are very honoured to collaborate with UNFPA in the operation of the Anh Duong Houses in HCM city and Danang. CSAGA is experienced in supporting survivors of gender-based violence through the operation of hotlines and shelters for survivors of violence. With support from UNFPA, we are ready to provide integrated services to meet the needs of any survivors of violence, especially women and girls. We will work harder to ensure the rights of women and leave no woman behind.”

The Government of Japan highly appreciated UNFPA for the tireless effort on the prevention and response to violence against women and girls in Viet Nam, which is prevalent especially in the COVID 19 context. 

In his remarks, Minister Okabe from the Embassy of Japan to Viet Nam stressed: “UNFPA’s decision to collaborate with both the Ministry and a non-governmental organisation is very innovative as it diversifies the way to reach survivors of gender-based violence, providing them with integrated services. By funding the establishment of three Anh Duong Houses in Thanh Hoa, Danang and HCM City, the Government of Japan was pleased to have been able to contribute to mitigating the negative impact of COVID 19 in Viet Nam, making sure that everyone is part of the country’s sustainable development process.”

Note to editors:

The findings of the UNFPA-supported National Study on Violence against Women in Vietnam in 2019 showed nearly 2 in 3 women (62.9%) experienced at least one form of physical, sexual, psychological, and economic violence and controlling behaviours by their husband in their lifetime. And half of the women who experienced physical and or/sexual violence by a husband/partner has told no one about it, and most of the women (90.4) experiencing violence did not seek any help. Therefore, violence against women is very much hidden in Vietnamese society.

For further information, please contact:

Ms Hoang Phan Thu Uyen

CSAGA Communication Officer, email: uyenhoang@csaga.org.vn ; Mobile: 0348 706 508

Ms Nguyen Thi Hong Thanh

UNFPA Communications Officer, email: tnguyen@unfpa.org ; Mobile: 0913 093 363