Listen with your heart, protect children with your actions
Nghe An currently has more than 935,000 children under 16 years old, accounting for nearly 27% of the province's population. Behind that number is the responsibility of families and the whole society in taking care of children's health, education and creating a safe living environment. In the context of children facing many risks such as violence, abuse, accidents and negative impacts from the online environment, the work of protecting, caring for and implementing children's rights is becoming more urgent.
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Thanh Quynh(Implementation) - Technique:Hong Toai• September 29, 2025
PV: Many people still think that children today are cared for and looked after quite adequately. However, in reality, Nghe An still has 13,077 children in special circumstances. What do you think about this number?
Mr. Le Van Thuy:First of all, let's clarify a little about the concept of "children in special circumstances". It has been stipulated in Clause 10, Article 4 of the 2016 Law on Children to talk about children who are not eligible to fully exercise their basic rights such as the right to protection, care, upbringing and education... This group of children can be orphans, abandoned children, children with disabilities; or children who are subjected to violence, abuse, trafficking, labor exploitation; some children violate the law, are addicted to drugs... Each group has its own disadvantages and difficulties, but the common point is that they all need a loving embrace, a strong protection mechanism so as not to be left behind.
Looking at the reality in Nghe An, it can be seen that there are still many children living in difficult and deprived circumstances. Out of the total of more than 935,000 children under 16 years old in the whole province, there are still 13,077 children in special circumstances and up to 131,844 children at risk of falling into special circumstances, accounting for about 14% of the total number of children. In particular, up to 51,873 children are living in poor households, lacking both material and conditions for comprehensive development.
These figures show that, although child care and protection in the area has received attention, the lives of children in Nghe An still face many difficulties, with many potential dangers and risks in life.
PV:So, given that situation, how is the work of caring for, protecting and implementing children’s rights in the province being carried out? Is there anything that makes you still concerned about this work?
Mr. Le Van Thuy:In fact, to put the Law on Children and related documents into practice, it is not just a matter of issuing documents or propaganda. We must synchronously deploy the direction of the Government, ministries and central branches, then the Provincial Party Committee, People's Council, Provincial People's Committee and departments, branches and localities. All are aimed at three key groups: Protecting children's rights and promoting their participation; preventing accidents and injuries; and caring for and nurturing children in special circumstances.
Specifically speaking in practice, in order to prevent violence and child abuse, the sectors must implement many measures, from propaganda and dissemination of "hotline" phone numbers such as 111 (National Switchboard), 1800.599.963 (Provincial Social Work Center), 02383.658.999 (Provincial Child Protection Fund Consulting Center), to guidance on support and intervention procedures when children are at risk of violence, abuse or trafficking.
At the department level, each unit has different responsibilities. The Department of Health focuses on forensic examination, reception and treatment, counseling, health care for abused children, and training skills for medical staff, aiming to build a truly safe environment for children. The Department of Education and Training closely coordinates between schools, families and society, both preventing school violence and preventing crimes and social evils among students. The provincial police focus on detecting, preventing and strictly handling acts of violence and child abuse. The Court and the Procuracy also take drastic measures to ensure timely and lawful trials and prosecutions.
Thanks to that, we see positive signs when, as of December 2024, the number of child abuse cases in Nghe An has decreased in both the number of cases and the number of victims compared to previous years. All cases are handled strictly, contributing to general deterrence and prevention.
However, when I put myself in the role of direct observation and monitoring, I realized that there are still gaps that need to be noticed and improved. For example, although child injury prevention activities have been implemented, the effectiveness in each locality is sometimes different; coordination between agencies, communities, and families is sometimes ineffective.
I also have many concerns about the team of cadres and collaborators working with children. From the province to the grassroots, Nghe An currently has about 3,797 collaborators in 3,797 villages, hamlets, and residential blocks. They are the important link to detect and promptly support children at risk of violence, abuse, or falling into special circumstances.
However, there are still certain challenges. In some localities, child care workers have to take on many other tasks, leading to insufficient time for children. The large number of collaborators are mostly part-time, with limited support, making it difficult for them to feel secure in their long-term commitment.
Therefore, child protection, in essence, is not just about laws, directives or numbers. It requires more than just real attention, timely response and a system that is truly sensitive to children, so that any signal of risk is detected, addressed and not missed.
PV:Recently, a letter from a young child in Hanoi about being abused by her stepmother for a long time but not daring to speak up has caused public grief. Obviously, many cases of child abuse are only discovered when it is too late. Sir, what signs should we recognize early to promptly support and protect children in such cases?
Mr. Le Van Thuy:In reality, abused children often leave unusual signs if adults pay close attention. Physically, children often have bruises, scratches, burns or broken bones with unreasonable explanations. Or children often wear long clothes to hide injuries. Psychologically and behaviorally, children are easily frightened, startled, withdrawn, have insomnia, have nightmares, or on the contrary, show unusual signs of aggression and resistance. In terms of learning, children often have poor academic results, are bored with school, often drop out of school, avoid teachers and friends. Some children also show signs of self-blame, self-pity, and even hurt themselves.
These signs can appear individually or simultaneously. It is important that relatives, teachers, and neighbors be observant and not ignore them, because the earlier they are detected, the more effective the support, intervention, and protection of children will be.
In Nghe An, there have been cases that have sounded the alarm bell. For example, in April 2025, in Truong Vinh ward (former Vinh city), a man was fined 10 million VND for using a broom to hit his own child, causing injury. Or before that, in the old Quynh Tan commune (now Quynh Van commune), public opinion was shocked when a 13-year-old girl was mentally abused and sexually abused by her stepfather for many years, only discovered when she bravely spoke up.
These incidents show that if we had paid attention, observed, and recognized unusual changes in children in a timely manner and had boldly informed the authorities and functional agencies in a timely manner, many children would not have had to silently bear the pain for a long time.
According to statistics, in 2025, the whole country will have more than 2.2 million divorced and separated people. Nghe An is also in the high group with nearly 46,000 people. Divorce has many consequences when children are often the most vulnerable. Not only mentally, but sometimes they are also neglected, lack care or are at risk of being abused by their own relatives. Therefore, for relatives in the family, the most important thing is to listen and be close so that children can express their emotions and not be left in silence. For teachers, it is necessary to become a "trusted friend" so that students can share and come to them when they encounter difficulties. For neighbors and residential groups, it is the responsibility to be close "eyes and ears", observing unusual signs for early detection. And for the government and mass organizations, it is necessary to be a solid support where children can be sheltered and protected in a timely manner.
Only with the concerted efforts of families, schools and society can we create a safe and healthy environment for children. This is not only a legal responsibility, but also a moral duty, so that every child can grow up in love, develop fully and no longer have to repeat heartbreaking stories.
PV: In the coming time, what key solutions will the health sector and relevant levels and sectors focus on to continue improving the effectiveness of child care, protection and implementation of children's rights in the province?
Mr. Le Van Thuy:It can be said that in recent years, the work of caring for, protecting and implementing children's rights in Nghe An has achieved many positive results. However, with a large number of children, the lives of many families are still difficult, combined with complex social factors, the risk of children falling into special circumstances, being subjected to violence, abuse or accidents still exists. That requires all levels, sectors and the whole society to continue to join hands, persevere and synchronize solutions.
First of all, it is necessary to increase resources, both human and financial, for children's work; focus on training and coaching to improve the capacity and skills of staff and collaborators for children from the province to the grassroots. This is considered a fundamental solution so that child protection and care can be implemented in a more timely, professional and effective manner.
Along with that, propaganda and education to raise social awareness of children's rights will continue to be promoted, targeting each family and community. Because the care, love and responsibility of parents, teachers and people around are the most sustainable "shield" to help children develop in a safe and healthy environment.
One of the emerging issues today is protecting children in the online environment. Departments, branches and localities will focus on directing and guiding to support children to interact healthily, creatively and safely in the digital space. In particular, functional agencies need to promote the work of ensuring information security, compiling and publishing many media publications such as Questions and Answers on Children's Rights, Handbook on preventing fake news and false news online, or Code of Conduct on the Internet. The Provincial Police will increase the reception, verification and handling of acts of abuse and harm to children in the online environment. The Department of Health will guide agencies, families, communities and children themselves to fully exercise the right to access information, and at the same time have their images and personal secrets protected according to the provisions of law.
We believe that, with the cooperation of the entire political system and society, especially promoting the role of each family, the work of caring for, protecting and implementing children's rights in Nghe An will increasingly go into depth, contributing to children in the area living safely, healthily and developing comprehensively.
PV: Thanks for the chat!