UN Women helps upgrade services assisting violence victims in Vietnam

Handover ceremony of essential equipment and facilities held in Peace House Shelters in Hanoi (Photo courtesy of UN Women Vietnam)

Hanoi – UN Women in Vietnam held a ceremony on March 15 to hand over essential equipment and facilities to upgrade the hotlines and facilities of related social services of the two Peace House Shelters in Hanoi.

Earlier on March 12, essential equipment and facilities were also presented to the Peace House Shelter in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho.

This assistance is under the joint project of Supporting Interventions to Eliminate Violence against Women and Children in Vietnam under COVID-19 Emergency Context, financially sponsored by the Australian Government with technical support of UN Women, UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and UN International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).

The pandemic has not only affected socio-economic aspects but also increased violence against women and children.

According to a report of UN Women, violence against women and children across the globe has risen by 30-300 percent since the pandemic broke out.

In Vietnam, the number of calls and texts to the hotlines of and the number of victims visiting the Peace House Shelters in 2020 increased sevenfold year-on-year.

Elisa Fernandez Saenz, Country Representative of UN Women Vietnam, said that the assistance aims to supplement to the Vietnamese Government’s efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure essential services supporting violence victims are not disrupted and are improved.

Along with equipment and facilities, UN Women also helps increase the capacity of staff who man the hotlines or work at the Peace House Shelters so as to better respond to increasing violence amidst the pandemic, she added.

The hotlines and Peace House Shelters have so far provided consultations for 9,043 people, and rescued and sheltered 1,361 women and 560 children.