Child Protection
No child should be exposed to violence, abuse, exploitation or neglect. UNICEF’s work contributes to a more protective and inclusive environment for every child in Viet Nam.
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Challenge
Violence, abuse, exploitation and neglect are preventable. Yet, they still happen to many children in Viet Nam. They happen where children should be most protected – at home, at school and online. In many cases, children suffer at the hands of people they trust. Violence can leave lasting marks on children’s mental health and wellness, impairing their ability to develop, learn and socialize, and affecting their transition to adulthood.
Viet Nam is one of the most dynamic emerging countries in Asia. At the same time, its rapid socio-economic development, urbanization and growing social inequality put children’s rights at risk.
The numbers tell the story.
Nearly three-quarters of children experience violent discipline at home, one million are engaged in child labour – half in hazardous work – one-in-five are victims of cyberbullying and an estimated one-in-five adolescents experience a mental health issue.
Today, too many children remain scarred by violence, abuse or child exploitation, lack somewhere to call home and grow up without a caring and supportive family environment.
Solutions
Children’s suffering can and must stop. For this to happen, we need to make protecting children a priority. Taking action today will allow girls, boys and adolescents to realize their right to grow up in a protective environment and reach their full potential.
That is why UNICEF Viet Nam works tirelessly to ensure children are protected from violence, exploitation, abuse and neglect.
Viet Nam needs a stronger child protection system that puts children first. We work with key partners, including the government, NGOs, and private sector, to share knowledge and international best practices, generate evidence to inform decision-making, provide technical advice to strengthen legislation and policies, and raise awareness of children’s rights.
For these strategies to bring sustainable change for children, a key feature of UNICEF’s support goes towards national efforts to create a network of social workers as a first line of defence to prevent violence and exploitation, identify children’s needs, and provide protection services. We work to ensure that every child can grow up in a loving and nurturing family environment and to promote a justice system that is child-friendly, gender-sensitive and well-equipped to secure children’s rights.
The strategies are helping break inter-generational cycles of vulnerability and ensure that all children realize children’s rights to a safe and protective environment and eventually become citizens who contribute fully to society.
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Impacts
UNICEF Viet Nam’s goal is that by 2026, all children who experience violence or abuse are reached by social welfare, health and justice services. This means an effective child protection system is in place across all communes of Viet Nam, with a Family and Juvenile Court in every province. Additionally, parents are equipped with holistic parenting skills, child protection and frontline workers receive trainings to support child victims of violence and abuse, and community- and family-based care replace residential institutions for children deprived of parental care.
