'Put a camera in everyone's conscience'

Continuing to discuss the problem of child abuse in preschools and the lack of proper care in preschools, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoai Thu said that conscience must be the top factor, followed by responsibility and law.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoai Thu is a former member of the Party Central Committee and former Chairwoman of the National Assembly's Committee on Social Affairs.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoai Thu, child abuse happens continuously like this, in your opinion, who is mainly responsible?

You mean to put the law first, but personally I think conscience should be the top factor, then responsibility and the law.

Uncle Ho once said, “children are like buds on a branch” meaning that all the best things must be given to children, but have we done it? If so, to what extent, or is it just symbolic, a model?

I think nowadays everything needs money to solve the problem. We say we will build many kindergartens for children but in the end most of it is still parents' money.

Police worked with Ms. Pham Thi My Linh (43 years old, owner of Mam Xanh private kindergarten) on the morning of November 27. Photo: VOV

We don't need to look far, just look right in our country to see, even though the country has changed and integrated, how many children still have to live in poverty? How many orphans are still not properly cared for?

As the press has reported, in society there are continuous cases of fathers torturing their children, grandmothers killing their grandchildren and then staging fake crime scenes, nannies torturing children... These are alarm bells about the serious decline of social morality.

Therefore, I want to emphasize the two words conscience because: Children are always the most vulnerable subjects in society. They are not able to resist any objective factors, so they need to be protected and taken care of.

Currently, we have only done a small part of the job of loving and caring for children in the family. But in many families, violence against one’s own flesh and blood still occurs. Many children in difficult circumstances still have to live in poverty and misery. Many children still have no place to rely on.

For the future of our children, we need to awaken the conscience in each person.

How do we awaken this feeling, which should be instinctive and nurtured every day?

Regarding responsibility, the Law on Children (replacing the Law on Child Protection, Care and Education) is now available but we still do not strictly enforce it.

As far as I know, there is no ward or commune in this country that does not have a child protection organization. So let's face it and be honest, have the organizations and individuals assigned to protect children fulfilled their responsibilities? It is time to clarify the responsibilities of these agencies because we cannot abandon any child in society.

There are also provisions for disciplining leaders in the legal system. But how to apply them and who is the leader is still an open question.

The incident happened at Mam Xanh kindergarten, according to the law, who should we discipline? Ho Chi Minh City leaders, District 12 leaders, or ward leaders, heads of education departments, Department of Education and Training…?

Perhaps because we have so many leaders, we cannot name any leader in the story of a long period of brutal child abuse.

After serious incidents involving child abuse in preschools that we still manage with the attitude of “this achievement is my achievement” or “that shortcoming is the collective responsibility”, heartbreaking incidents involving children will be difficult to stop.

Is the root of the problem a collective responsibility, so that despite having 15 child protection agencies, many of our children still have to live in an unsafe environment due to a lack of protection and care?

I think it's better to have a few organizations that do things well and thoroughly than to have many organizations that are negligent, expect, and rely on each other.

And I also have the same question, which is whether there is any child protection agency that proactively visits schools every day to see how the children are eating and studying, or only when something happens do they rush to speak up and visit.

I guarantee that if out of these 15 agencies, there were only 1 or 2 agencies, or a few organizations at the ward and commune levels that worked with conscience and responsibility, and regularly monitored, then child abuse would be difficult to happen.

Put these children in your shoes to understand the pain they are going through.

As far as I know, when an incident occurs, the authorities propose to install cameras, but perhaps if it is not based on conscience, installing cameras is only a temporary solution and does not solve the root problem of violence and disrespect for children. Therefore, once again, I emphasize that we need to have a conscience, do not force children to look at the camera, but install cameras in everyone's conscience.

Do you believe that imprisonment will prevent child abuse?

Imprisonment or other severe penalties for those who violate the law must be carefully considered. But it is imperative that those who abuse children are dealt with severely and, most importantly, that these penalties be sufficient to deter them and others from reoffending.

Do you think that the widespread licensing and lack of post-inspection at many family childcare facilities also need to be rectified and cleaned up?

Nowadays, many preschools consider having an operating license as a talisman.

While everyone knows what steps are required to get a license from the authorities.

Authorities should not think that once a license is issued, their responsibilities are over. The law has enough regulations on the responsibilities of these authorities.

Thank you so much for taking the time to share.

According to Vietnamnet.vn