The Prevention and Protection Against Child Abuse in HCMC

The Prevention and Protection Against Child Abuse in HCMC, VN project aims to protect vulnerable children against the threat of child abuse. We raise awareness of child protection and care throughout society, support children from difficult circumstances, and support poor, vulnerable and at-risk children with emergency support, education and healthcare. Our primary target group consists of poor and disadvantaged children from Binh Chanh District and District 8 of HCMC. By promoting knowledge and awareness, the project addresses issues in society related to prevention and protection against the numerous forms of child abuse. Furthermore, the project directly addresses a number of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their underlying targets.

The overall development objective of the project is to change and increase the knowledge, awareness, attitudes and practices of all parties involved with child protection and children’s rights. The knowledge we convey to our partners and beneficiaries about ways to prevent and protect children against various hazards they face will contribute to bringing about a lasting improvement in the lives of disadvantaged children. By reevaluating, reeducating and reassessing approaches relating to the needs and rights of the most disadvantaged and abused children in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), our goal is to bring about lasting improvements for all poor, marginalised and vulnerable groups.

We provide direct support to vulnerable and at-risk children in the form of:

• Training and workshops for at-risk young people on a variety of relevant subjects – i.e. Children’s Rights, domestic violence, substance abuse/dependency, avoidance of sexual abuse and exploitation, avoidance of labour abuse.
•  Emergency support for school pupils to remove barriers to accessing education.
• Disaster relief, financial support, acquisition of legal papers, etc.
• Support for children who are on probation.
• Financial support, probation related travel expenses, psychological counselling, financial litigation support, legal support, etc. 
• Provision of health and accident insurance for school children.
• Emergency health support for at-risk children.
• Child peer-educator clubs (which have been shown to be much more successful regarding ‘hard to reach’ children and communities).
• Sports and recreational activities for impoverished children.
• Family counselling – for families in special circumstances.

We are also an active member of the HCMC based Child’s Rights Working Group (CRWG), and our project’s key focus within the group are to strengthen the network, and utilise the strength and unity of the network to advocate for Children’s Rights, child protection and for steps to be taken which would decrease the risk of child abuse. We believe that our longstanding experience working with disadvantaged children in HCMC legitimises us to advocate on behalf of the Rights of the Child, and we work with a diverse variety of groups to mutually strengthen and grow child protection services in the city. 

We work together with:

• District based childcare protection officers, social workers, social work departments in schools and hospitals, the police, health care facilities and local mass organisations.
• Parents, local people and locally-based civil society organisations.
• Child protection policy and decision makers at the district and HCMC level, the Child Rights Network and national and international civil society organisations.
• Other NGO and NPOs and unions.
• Educational groups and facilities.