Levels of child protection in Vietnam

Levels of child protection in Vietnam (Internet image)

1. What is child protection?

According to Clause 1, Article 4 of the Children Law 2016, child protection refers to the implementation of appropriate measures for ensuring safe and healthy life for children, the prevention and response to child abuse and the support for disadvantaged children.

2. Levels of child protection in Vietnam

The levels of child protection in Vietnam include:

* Prevention level

- The prevention level includes many child protective measures which are applicable to community, families and children for the purpose of raising awareness and improving 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.

- 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.

* Support level

- The support level includes child protective measures which are applicable to children in danger of violence, exploitation or abandonment or disadvantaged children for the purpose of discovering, reducing or abolishing risks of harm to children in a timely manner.

- 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 Children Law 2016;

+ Assist disadvantaged children and their families to access to social support policies and other supporting sources for improving living conditions for children.

* Intervention level

- The intervention level includes child protective measures that are 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.

- 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 the Children Law 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 the Children Law 2016;

+ Monitor and evaluate the safety of abused children or those in danger of child abuse.

(Articles 48, 49, 50 of the Children Law 2016)

Diem My

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