Hanoi (VNA) – Women are more reluctant to reportincidents of sexual assault against them and seek support than physicalviolence, Deputy Minister of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen ThiHa told a workshop in Hanoi on December 5.

The workshop, entitled “Sexual violence against women andgirls: Gaps in legislation and supporting services”, was co-held by theMinistry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) and the UnitedNations Population Fund (UNFPA).

Though no specific studies have been published on violenceagainst women and children in Vietnam, it is estimated that over 50 percent ofwomen have experienced at least one form of violence – be it physical, sexual,and psychological violence – at some point in their lives. Violence againstwomen and children come in many forms and occur in different spaces, fromwithin the family to among the community.

Ha said Vietnam has taken many steps to ensure socialwelfare, protect human rights, particularly of women, and promote genderequality.

The MoLISA has set up community-based shelters, supportcentres, and gender equality consulting services for gender-specific violencevictims. It has also promoted violence-free, friendly schools and safe citiesfor women and children to raise public awareness of the issue and reduce potentialrisks for women and children, she noted.

However, the deputy minister admitted that it is more challengingto tackle and intervene in sexual assaults against women and girls comparedwith other forms of violence, with victims often facing lengthy processes fortheir cases to be taken on or settled, which has further raised publicdiscontent.

During the workshop, speakers discussed a range of violentacts against women and girls and exchanged views on policy gaps on the issues.They also talked about the support services available for sexual violencesurvivors in Vietnam and shared some of the best practices in preventing andresponding to sexual violence against women and girls both at home and inforeign countries.

Do Thi Thu Ha from the UNFPA pointed out the fact thatsexual violence and harassment are often viewed as a sensitive topic that isdifficult to share and discuss in public. Furthermore, prejudices againstvictims of sexual abuse have prevented them from being fully supported, not tomention negative judgments they could face for speaking out or seeking justice.

She further noted that victims are often blamed for violentacts against them and people are often skeptical of what a victim has to say. Manyturn their backs on victims, and as a result, these women and girls have beenconditioned into believing that they themselves are responsible, she said,adding that this culture of victim blaming is a global concern, causing survivorsof sexual violence to stay silent against their abusers.

To address the issue, participants suggested launching high-qualitysupport services for victims that cover different aspects from healthcare andpsychology to legal consultancy, and that these services must be friendly andeasy to access.

They also stressed the need to change people’s attitude ongender-based violence, particularly sexual violence and harassment. At the sametime, relevant governmental agencies must collect comprehensive nationalstatistics on sexual violence against women and girls and improve the currentlegislation on this issue.–VNA