Delivering as One in Viet Nam to Address the Issue of Gender-based Violence

PHU THO PROVINCE, Viet Nam — “My first year of marriage was very happy,” remembers Hoa with a smile. Everything was as she had planned. She was young, had married the man she loved and was running a successful cosmetics shop.

Her happiness did not last. “Things changed when I got pregnant,” she recalls. “My husband started to be very jealous. He got drunk very often and started to beat me.” Very frightened and with little knowledge of her rights or available services, she sought help from her family.

“My parents came to our house to talk with my husband and convince him not to beat me anymore. He stopped for a while but then started again. As time went by the situation became worse. Once he locked me in the house for ten days. After being released, I ran away,” remembers Hoa.

She asked for help from the Women’s Union in the commune. After assessing her case, they decided to refer Hoa to the Doan Hung district hospital, where she received assistance at the hospital’s counselling room for victims of gender-based violence. Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Quang manages the counselling room, initiated as part of a pilot project funded by the United Nations and the Swiss Development Cooperation to provide screening, collect information and provide referrals for victims of violence.

First we listen

“First we listen to them, then we collect information about the case and analyze it,” says Dr. Quang. “Depending on the severity, we offer counselling and provide information on gender-based violence and life skills, or we refer the case to other levels, including to health facilities, the police, legal offices or the Women’s Union, among others.” Some cases are referred to the district and commune police so that the victim receives protection. Women who fear retribution may also be sent to a safe house in Phu Tho, for a short-term stays, or to a shelter somewhere else if longer term accommodation is required.

After receiving help in the hospital, Hoa was referred to a safe place to stay. “My daughter and I stayed six months in the shelter,” Hoa explains. “At the beginning I was frightened, but now I do not feel scared anymore. Thanks to the training I received on communications, life skills and women’s health I have learned a lot and know how to protect myself from violence. I have also learned about the Law on Domestic Violence Prevention and Control and have realized that there are mechanisms to protect victims of violence.”

Recognizing that her experience could help other people in the same situation, Hoa has been providing support to other survivors of gender-based violence since leaving the shelter. “I know of two cases in my village. Since I have gone through the same thing, I am providing them with counselling and information about Dr. Quang and the services available at the counselling room.”

Addressing gender-based violence at many levels

Viet Nam has a long history of promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment and is serious about ending gender-based violence. The country is signatory to numerous international human rights treaties and conventions that relate to gender-based violence and is making remarkable progress towards the achievement of Millennium Development Goal 3 on gender equality. However, despite the existing legal framework – the country passed the Law on Gender Equality in 2006 and one year later the Law on Domestic Violence Prevention and Control – gender-based violence is still a serious problem. A national study conducted in 2006 indicated that 21.2 per cent of married couples in Viet Nam had experienced at least one form of domestic violence, including verbal, emotional, physical or sexual.

Because gender-based violence is a complex issue that cuts across sectors, multiple UN agencies are working together with the Government and other stakeholders to address the problem through a strategic, sensitive and comprehensive approach that ranges from interventions at the community level to upstream policy support. This is an example of the ‘Delivering as One’ approach that Viet Nam, along with eight other countries, is piloting. It is an example of UN Reform, which aims to improve the coherence, effectiveness and relevance of the United Nations system.

As part of the UN project, domestic violence prevention standing committees – which consist of staff from local People’s Committees, relevant civil society organizations, health centres and the police, among others – meet regularly to follow up with cases in the community and ensure that survivors and their children are being supported. Now that Hoa is back in her hometown, the local steering committee is closely monitoring her case to make sure that she continues to enjoy a life free of violence and can pursue her dream of re-opening the cosmetics shop she ran when she was married – the same shop her husband destroyed after they got divorced.

Using legal framework to reinforce community-based efforts

In parallel to the work at the community level, the United Nations Country Team in Viet Nam is working at the central level through the UN-Government Gender Programme Coordination Group to support development and implementation of legal and policy frameworks on gender-based violence prevention and response. This will reinforce community-based efforts to prevent gender-based violence and support survivors.

To facilitate national implementation of the Law on Gender Equality and the Law on Domestic Violence Prevention and Control, the UN has provided technical inputs to the laws draft decrees which specify Government responsibilities and the measures to be taken to implement the laws, as well as associated penalties. For example, the UN also supported Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MOCST), the state management agency responsible for the Law on Domestic Violence Prevention and Control, to develop a ministerial Plan of Action on Domestic Violence and now is also helping the ministry to develop a multi-agency collaboration mechanism to improve accountability and strengthen coordination and collaboration on domestic violence work. In addition, the UN has worked closely with the Ministry of Health to support the development of a legal circular providing guidance for health professionals on the admission and provision of care and reporting on patients who are victims of domestic violence at health facilities.

Many agencies working together to solve a common problem

Through a strategic, well coordinated and holistic approach, the UN in Vietnam is “delivering as one” to address gender-based violence. This holistic approach has allowed UN to analyze the issue from different angles and address it comprehensively. Working jointly helps the UN to achieve shared goals, avoid duplication and build on the strengths and experiences of each organization. “By bringing together UN agencies and different line ministries we are ensuring a better and coordinated response to the needs of gender-based violence survivors,” explains the UN Resident Coordinator in Viet Nam, John Hendra.

Under the umbrella of the UN-Government of Viet Nam Joint Programme on Gender Equality, UNFPA is supporting the MOCST to develop training materials tailored to Members of Parliament, senior party members, government officials and duty bearers at different levels so that they can better implement and monitor the Law on Domestic Violence Prevention and Control.

UN Office on Drugs and Crime is providing technical assistance to the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) to strengthen capacity of police officers, and works with legal aid agencies to provide legal services and advice to violence survivors on how to handle domestic violence cases sensitively and appropriately.

WHO is currently supporting the General Statistics Office to conduct the first nation-wide 'Study on Women’s Health and Life Experiences'  with the aim of responding to the evidence-based data and information needs for policy makers, academia, international organizations and civil society to design effective policies and services for girls and women suffering gender-based violence, as well as for perpetrators.

In addition, UNDP supports the development of a monitoring and evaluation framework for the Law. In order to raise awareness about gender-based violence, the UN – through UNFPA and UNESCO --  is also working with the media to build the capacity of journalists to  report on this issue in a gender-sensitive manner.