How many levels of child protection are there in Vietnam? What are the level-based child protection measures?
How many levels of child protection are there in Vietnam?
Under Article 47 of the Law on Children 2016:
Requirements on child protection
1. The child protection is implemented in according to the following three levels:
a) Prevention;
b) Support;
c) Intervention.
2. The implementation of the child protection must ensure the systematization, continuity, close and effective cooperation between competent authorities and sector managing agencies in the construction and implementation of policies and laws and the provision of child protective services.
3. Agencies, organizations, educational establishments, families and individuals assume child protection duties. The child protection must comply with the laws, processes and standards promulgated by competent state authorities.
4. The child protection at children’s families and families that perform the surrogate care is prioritized. The sending of children to social support establishments is only a temporary method when the care of children at their families or families performing the surrogate care is unsuccessful or for the best interests of children.
5. Parents, caregivers and children must provide information and state their opinions with competent authorities and individuals in making decisions on child protection intervention or support.
6. It should attach a special importance to the prevention of the risk of harm to children; make timely intervention for minimizing bad consequences; actively assist disadvantaged children with functional rehabilitation and social inclusion.
Thus, child protection is implemented according to the following three levels: Prevention; Support; and Intervention.
The Law on Children 2016 clearly explains each level of child protection as follows:
- The prevention level includes many child protective measures applicable to the community, families and children to raise awareness and improve knowledge of child protection, creating a safe and healthy living environment for children and minimizing the risk of cases where children who may be abused or face disadvantaged conditions.
- The support level includes child protective measures applicable to children in danger of violence, exploitation or abandonment or disadvantaged children to discover, reduce or abolish risks of harm to children promptly.
- The intervention level includes child protective measures applicable to abused children and their families for preventing acts that result in harm to children and assisting disadvantaged children with functional rehabilitation and social inclusion.
What are the level-based child protection measures in Vietnam?
Under Clause 2, Article 48, Clause 2, Article 49, and Clause 2, Article 50 of the Law on Children 2016, the level-based child protection measures in Vietnam are specified as follows:
(1) Child protective measures at prevention level consist of:
- Propagate and disseminate the danger and consequences of factors and acts harming and abusing children; responsibility for discovering and reporting cases where children are abused or in danger of violence, exploitation or abandonment to community, families and children;
- Provide information and equip parents, teachers, caregivers and people working in child protective service providers with knowledge of child protection duties and skills for preventing and discovering factors and acts harming or abusing children;
- Equip with knowledge and parenting skills for ensuring children’s safety;
- Educate and give advice on knowledge and self-protection skills to children;
- Establish a safe and suitable living environment for children.
(2) Child protective measures at the support level consist of:
- Warn about risk factors for child abuse; give advice on intervention measures, knowledge and skills for abolishing or reducing the risk of child abuse to parents, teachers, caregivers, people working in child protective service providers and children for the purpose of re-establishing a safe living environment for children in danger of child abuse;
- Receive information, evaluate the level of harm and apply necessary measures for supporting children in danger of violence, exploitation or abandonment for the purpose of eliminating or minimizing such dangers;
- Give assistance to disadvantaged children as regulated in the Law on Children 2016;
- Assist disadvantaged children and their families to access to social support policies and other supporting sources for improving living conditions for children.
(3) Child protective measures at the intervention level consist of:
- Give health care, psychological treatment, physical and mental health rehabilitation to abused children and disadvantaged children who require the intervention;
- Arrange a safe temporary residence for children and separate them from the environment or individuals that make threats or have acts of violence or child exploitation.
- Arrange temporary or long-term surrogate care for children of groups defined in Clause 2 Article 62 of Law on Children 2016;
- Assist children suffered violence, exploited and abandoned children in family reunion, school integration and social integration.
- Give advice and provide parents, caregivers and family members of disadvantaged children with knowledge of duties and skills of protecting, taking care of and practicing inclusive education to this group of children.
- Give advice and provide knowledge of legislation and legal assistance to parents, caregivers and disadvantaged children;
- Measures for assisting abused children and their children prescribed in Clause 1 Article 43, Clause 1 Article 44 and Point d Clause 2 Article 49 of Law on Children 2016;
- Monitor and evaluate the safety of abused children or those in danger of child abuse.
What ages are considered children in Vietnam?
Current regulations on ages considered children in Vietnam are clearly stated in Article 1 of the Law on Children 2016 as follows:
Children
A child is a human being below the age of 16.
Thus, people under the age of 16 are considered children.
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