Vietnam’s regulations on tasks of domestic violence victim supporting facilities

According to the Law on Domestic Violence Prevention and Control 2007 of Vietnam, domestic violence victims supporting facilities shall provide domestic violence victims with care, advice and temporary domicile and other essential support. Domestic violence victim support facilities include:

1. Health stations

- Health stations shall provide medical services in line with Article 23 of this Law and also provide advice on health issues.

- Public health stations, apart from performing as mentioned above, depending on their actual capacity and conditions, shall provide temporary domicile to the domestic violence victims for no longer than one day at the request of the victims.

2. Social protection centers

Social protection centers shall provide assistance, psychological advice, temporary domicile and other necessities to domestic violence victims.

3. Domestic violence victim assistance and domestic violence prevention and control counseling centers  

- The State shall encourage and facilitate individuals and organizations to establish domestic violence victim supporting and counseling facilities; provide financial support to some supporting and counseling facilities under the domestic violence prevention and control programs/plans as well as to target beneficiaries defined by the government.

- Depending on their operational policies and functions, domestic violence victim supporting and counseling centers shall provide health care, legal and psychological advice, temporary domiciles and other essential support to domestic violence victims.

- The domestic violence victim supporting and counseling facilities must meet the following conditions:

+ Having sufficient physical resources and qualified human resources suitable to carry out domestic violence victim supporting activities;

+ Being financially viable to maintain violence victim supporting activities.

- The counselors must have good ethics and good expertise in their field in accordance with regulations on counseling services. They must keep the victim’s privacy confidential except for the case that they find some criminal signs out of domestic violence acts. In such a case, they should report to the Head of their counseling center, who must report to the police immediately.

4. Reliable addresses in the community

- Reliable addresses in the community are prestigious individuals and organizations that are capable volunteers ready to help domestic violence victims in the community.

- Individuals and organizations shall inform the commune People’s Committee of their willingness and readiness to be reliable addresses and their locations.

- The reliable addresses in the community, depending on their actual situation and capacity, shall admit violence victims and provide them with assistance, advice and temporary domicile and keep the relevant authorities informed.

- The commune People’s Committee shall list reliable addresses in the community; provide guidance and conduct training on prevention and control of domestic violence and protect the reliable addresses when necessary.

- The commune/ward/township Committee of Fatherland Front and its members shall be obliged to work with the People’s Committee at the same level, to carry out communication/advocacy and establish reliable addresses in the community.

View more details at the Law on Domestic Violence Prevention and Control 2007 of Vietnam, effective from July 01, 2008.

Ty Na

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