On October 8th, Planète Enfants & Développement participated in a social forum to support victims of gender-based violence, who were received in health clinics and hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam. This forum, which gathered about a hundred participants, was an opportunity to review the creation of a multidisciplinary reception unit within the hospital in Ho Chi Minh City.
Organized by UN Women, the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (DOLISA), Women Academy and Planète Enfants & Développement, the forum brought together hospital administrators, social workers, government officials and associations. One of the objectives of the forum was to promote a new model of one-stop shelter to help survivors of gender-based violence in Ho Chi Minh City.
- What is a One-Stop-Shop?
Comprised of a team of complementary experts, a one-stop shop provides comprehensive assistance to victims of all types of violence, from physical and mental health care, to legal assistance, to recovery and rehabilitation services.
The center will also be able to address the underlying causes of gender-based violence in families, such as poverty, employment problems due to lack of job skills, etc. This type of center has already been successfully implemented in Thailand and the Philippines since 2007.
- Why set up the center in a hospital?
When they go to the hospital for treatment, victims of violence can then meet with a social worker who will provide more comprehensive support based on their history. This is easier than going to a traditional shelter which can be stigmatizing and less accessible.
- What was the impetus for wanting to set up this model of center?
Gender-based violence, particularly against women, already commonplace in Vietnam, exploded in the spring in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis. At the same time, access to shelters was becoming increasingly difficult due to confinement and decreasing subsidies. There was an urgent need to provide a response to the victims. The city of Ho Chi Minh is now waiting for the official validation to start the works. Planète Enfants & Développement will contribute to the financing of the works and the material.
This support center for victims of gender-based violence is part of our new Hy-Vong project in Vietnam. This project, in partnership with 3 other organizations, aims to provide an effective response to the problem of gender-based violence in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam through four components:
- prevention by involving young people in collaboration with universities,
- protection of victims
- capacity building of civil society
- the evolution and better application of laws (advocacy)
October 19, 2020
