Child abuse and violence have raised major public concern in recent years because many children are suffering acts of violence from their relatives, or even their parents.

Parents are also very worried about violence inside and outside schools as video clips of fighting between female students, child molestation and other disturbing scenes are posted on the Internet.

Nguyen Huu Hai, Head of the Department for Child Care and Protection under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) said the number of child sexual abuse cases has seen a year-on-year increase, up to 1,500 cases a year. This is unacceptable issue and degrading.

According to the Ministry of Public Security, around 100 children are murdered and 800 cases of child sexual abuse and 50 cases of kidnapping and trafficking children are discovered and prosecuted every year.

Since the beginning of the 2009-2010 school-year, 1,500 serious student fights inside and outside schools have been reported. Child kidnapping and trafficking have sharply increased, from 200 children in 2008 to 600 in 2009.

To prevent violence and child abuse, legal and state management agencies, local administrations and cadres involved in child care and protection need to improve their leadership capacity and take more responsibility when performing their duties.

This is also due to poor awareness of the importance of protecting children and the lack of a safe and friendly living environment for children. A child protection system, particularly a child protection services network, has also not been put in place.

Ma Thi Nguyet, vice chairwoman of the Thai Nguyen provincial People’s Committee, says that one of reasons for this is people’s poor awareness of the law because the dissemination of laws, especially on child protection and care is inadequate. Many families face economic difficulties and unhappy marriages and there is no connectivity between families, schools and society to manage and educate children. Some cases of violence against children have not been dealt with quickly and strictly.                                                                             

To prevent violence and child abuse it is essential to improve the duties and responsibilities of families as well as schools and the community. In addition, the whole legal system for child protection should be completed.

Deputy Minister of Education and Training, Nguyen Minh Hien, says that preventing school violence requires close coordination among departments, and the active involvement of families, schools, local authorities. In the future, the Ministry of Education and Training will continue to direct schools to implement strict measures to prevent violence and child abuse and launch campaigns to promote interaction between schools and pupils.

School violence and child abuse still occurs in some places. This is considered moral degradation, defying the laws and acting against the traditional culture. Adults should be fully aware of the need to love and protect children and also to strictly punish those who abuse them.