Child abuse and neglect: No cases have been prosecuted yet

Although there are adequate sanctions, child abuse still occurs frequently; no locality has been punished.

The legal system, especially the 2016 Law on Children, has clearly stipulated the responsibilities of agencies, organizations and individuals in protecting children as well as handling cases related to child abuse and violence.

Specifically, the People's Committees at the commune and ward levels must bear the primary responsibility when child abuse occurs in their areas. However, in recent times, almost no locality has been punished.

Kindergarten teacher abused children at Mam Xanh School, Ho Chi Minh City (photo: Tuoi Tre)

The Law on Children and Decree 56/2017/ND-CP of the Government stipulate that the Chairman of the People's Committee at the commune, district and provincial levels is the first person to be responsible when child abuse occurs in the area.

Chairmen of People's Committees of provinces and centrally run cities are responsible to the Prime Minister for failing to promptly handle cases of violence and child abuse occurring in their localities; failing to promptly support and intervene for children who are victims of violence and abuse.

Despite the existence of adequate sanctions, child abuse still occurs frequently. Partly due to the awareness of child care providers, the indifference of the surrounding community, and partly because children do not dare to speak up because the abusers are sometimes their parents.

Besides, the administrative penalty of 5 to 10 million VND is too low and not enough of a deterrent.

Mr. Ha Dinh Bon, Director of the Legal Department (Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs) said that the summary of Decree 144 of the Prime Minister on administrative sanctions in the field of child protection and care shows that in the past 5 years, Hanoi has not sanctioned any cases.

Reports from other localities are similar, with almost no administrative handling.

With the current legal framework, many localities have not yet fulfilled their responsibilities.

According to Mr. Ha Dinh Bon, it is necessary to review the entire legal system from the Law on Children, Criminal Law, and Civil Law to ensure consistency.

Besides, it is necessary to promote propaganda and legal education to raise public awareness.

“If we wait for instructions from superiors to handle the situation, we will not fulfill our responsibilities, and those who have not fulfilled their responsibilities will not be handled. According to the Decree on administrative sanctions, most localities do not handle administrative violations in the field of children.

Many localities, authorities, and residential groups do not handle the case, and no case has been handled. Hanoi also reported that this Decree has not been handled in any way. Thus, we have not implemented it effectively. To implement it effectively, we must have more specific and strict regulations, must inspect, check, and handle it resolutely," said Mr. Dinh Bon.

Ms. Ngo Thi Minh, Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly's Committee for Culture, Education, Youth and Children, also affirmed that current laws are quite comprehensive, but the organization of implementation and bringing the law into life is still a matter of concern today.

Although the 2016 Law on Children has a chapter clearly defining the responsibilities of agencies, organizations, individuals, educational institutions, and families in protecting children, the Law should be more specific, clearly assigning responsibilities to each department in the commune government for protecting and caring for children instead of rigidly assigning responsibility to the Chairman of the People's Committee of the commune, ward, or town.

In particular, it is necessary to focus on developing a team of collaborators, because this is an extended arm of the family court, with the task of preventing, detecting and denouncing acts of child abuse.

“Relevant ministries must have strong, close connections and clear responsibilities. The system of directive documents must also be consistently demonstrated. Recently, the Government has also strongly established the National Child Protection Hotline to contribute to the timely provision of information and handling of child abuse and violence. More importantly, it is necessary to establish a National Committee for Child Protection, assign responsibility down to the commune level, and have close, intimate relationships with each other to prevent violence and child abuse,” said Ms. Ngo Thi Minh./.

According to VOV