Child Sexual Abuse: Raising Public Awareness, Equipping Children with Skills

Regarding this issue, Nghe An Newspaper had an interview with Ms. Le Thi Nguyet - Head of Child Protection and Care - Gender Equality and Women's Advancement Department, Department of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs.

PV:Building a better future for children is the goal of the whole society, but along with efforts to help children have a better life, we must actively promote to equip and train children with skills to protect themselves, so that children can protect themselves from the risk of abuse. What is your opinion on this issue?

Ms. Le Thi Nguyet:First of all, the International Convention on the Rights and Duties of the Child and the Law on Children clearly state: Children have the right to play and enjoy the best values ​​that family and society can bring.

Vietnam is the first country in Asia and the second in the world to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child. There are 22 laws related to children's rights, from the Constitution, Labor Law, Law on Child Protection, Care and Education...

It is a fact that, in addition to being cared for and enjoying the best values, children are facing the risk of abuse in general and sexual abuse in particular. It is worth mentioning that this situation not only appears in remote areas, areas where the understanding of the community is low, children are less cared for, but also in urban areas.

A communication session on reproductive health for minors. Photo: Chu Thanh

PV:Recently, many people are worried about the increase in child sexual abuse. What is more worrying is that children are abused even in places that seem safe and protected...

Ms. Le Thi Nguyet:We think that the cases of abuse are increasing, but in fact, according to statistics, they are decreasing. It is just that the cases are being reported more widely and condemned more harshly. That shows that we are taking strong and decisive measures to eliminate this situation. So why do we have to hear and see heartbreaking cases in places that seem safe?

Places that seem safe can be schools, your home, or the residential area where you live, but no, all of these places are potentially unsafe for children. Besides, a safe place is where we think children are with trustworthy people, but in reality, recent cases of abuse are often relatives and acquaintances.

Obviously, we adults do not have the right awareness and do not have the skills to teach children. Therefore, we still instruct localities when building models to pay the most attention to propaganda so that parents have the right awareness about protecting children. The models need to operate according to the criteria, that is, in addition to propaganda so that the whole community can join hands to protect children, we must propagate to parents and guardians to have the right awareness in protecting children, avoiding the risks of abuse and teaching children how to protect themselves.

PV:Traditional beliefs often shy away from discussing gender issues, sexual abuse, etc. because they are considered sensitive. How should parents talk to their children about these issues so that they can accept them, and accept them in the right way?
Ms. Le Thi Nguyet:For a long time now, we have been blaming, blaming the management of the places where children are abused, blaming the way life skills are taught in schools, and the fact that social organizations have not propagated correctly and strongly, and have not reached the children's thinking and way of thinking. However, if we look closely, what have we - the parents - taught our children in the story of equipping them with self-defense skills when they are at risk of abuse? Obviously, not everyone knows and knows how to communicate correctly.

That is teaching children 9 years old and under the 4-circle rule, parents can hug and kiss on the cheek, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles can hold hands, put their arms around each other's shoulders, other acquaintances and relatives can only hold hands, new acquaintances can only wave... Or when children are in a situation where they are likely to be abused, for example, in an elevator being hugged by a stranger, at that time the child needs to crouch down, hug the pillow, bite hard on the abuser's hand and quickly press the nearest floor number, or the alarm button...

More importantly, from preschool age, parents must teach children to recognize the bikini area, and regularly remind them that no one is allowed to touch their private parts without their permission.

Besides, we should always say loving words to children, be as close to them as possible so that they can proactively express their joys and sorrows when going out, when their parents are not around.
PV:It is a fact that the way adults handle incidents after child abuse is lacking in tact and understanding, which seems to cause more trauma to the child. Can you share more about this?
Ms. Le Thi Nguyet:In reality, when children are abused, families often hide it, leaving the perpetrators at large; or lack the skills to report the abuse, revealing the child's identity, leading to unfortunate consequences.

I know of many cases where the victim’s family did not want others to know about this heartbreaking story, so they made a deal with the “pervert” and accepted compensation. This story gives the perpetrator the opportunity to re-offend with other victims, or even with his own children.

But on another level, many parents, because of their grief and indignation at the abuser's crimes, denounced everywhere, even telling their neighbors, with the aim of getting the authorities involved, not letting the criminals escape. Unfortunately, these measures caused serious psychological and mental damage to the children. Many children then did not want to go out, did not want to contact anyone, were in a state of panic, and many even sought relief in negative ways.

Propaganda and training activities on child abuse prevention at Dien Yen I Primary School, Dien Chau district with the theme "Action for children". Photo: Chu Thanh

We need to know that if we handle the situation poorly, we ourselves will cause the child to be "abused" a second time. For example, in a story I once received, a teacher talked to another teacher about his student being abused by a relative and wanted to find a way to report it but did not know how. At that moment, a student passed by and heard, this story quickly spread, and as a result, the student who was the victim of abuse dropped out of school and fell into depression...

Another thing that I am very concerned about is that the Criminal Code's regulations on the prosecution of rapists still have loopholes, and some regulations are not close to reality. Therefore, the work of examining and investigating the case faces many difficulties. If the time of accurate medical examination passes, the offender may be at large. Therefore, there should be adjustments that are more accurate to this type of crime.
To minimize this situation, it is necessary to have the synchronous participation of all socio-political organizations to raise people's awareness in caring for and protecting children.
PV:Thank you!