Deputy Chairwoman of the Việt Nam Women's Union Nguyễn Thị Minh Hương speaks at the campaign launching ceremony. — VNA/VNS Photo Phúc Hằng

HÀ NỘI — A communication campaign to support women in cyberspace and help them master the digital domain was launched on Sunday morning by the Việt Nam Women's Union Central Committee.

In her opening speech, Deputy Chairwoman of the Việt Nam Women's Union Nguyễn Thị Minh Hương emphasised that the campaign was launched in the final days of the Action Month for Gender Equality: Prevention and Response to Gender-Based Violence this year.

It was also right after the National Assembly voted to pass the amended Cybersecurity Law on December 10, an important milestone in completing the legal framework for cybersecurity management.

The law's approval contributes to protecting digital sovereignty, social order, safety and the interests of citizens and businesses in the online environment.

On October 25, Việt Nam successfully hosted the Hanoi Convention signing ceremony for the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime.

The campaign is the Việt Nam Women's Union's response to the nation's collective efforts to promote women's progress and gender equality amid the digital transformation.

According to Hương, in his guidance on women's campaigns and union activities, Party General Secretary Tô Lâm in October suggested starting a campaign with three safety-related priorities: general safety, peace of mind and social security.

The first priority, general safety, applies not only in real life but also on cyberspace. Meanwhile, 'peace of mind' includes a friendly digital space where women and children can participate and develop their capabilities, and 'social security' encompasses support services for women and families, including basic digital services.

The campaign to support women in cyberspace is the concretisation of these directives.

Việt Nam has seen rapid digitalisation, with nearly 80 million internet users, and is among a very few nations to achieve gender parity in digital skills for adolescents.

These figures are both a source of pride and a great responsibility for the country.

Cyberspace is becoming a new front for gender inequality and violence against women and girls.

Surveys show that about 87 per cent of children aged 12–17 in Việt Nam use the internet daily, but only about 36 per cent know how to protect their information online.

Research on Digital Government by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) also indicates that, although internet access rates have increased, women still access the internet and online public services at lower rates than men, especially in remote areas, mountainous regions and ethnic communities.

As a result, many women's opportunities to benefit from the digital transformation remain limited. In this context, if women and children do not raise their awareness, skills and voices in cyberspace, the gender gap and forms of gender-based violence will continue to shift from real life to digital life.

This violence could become more sophisticated and harder to detect, with more unpredictable consequences.

The communication campaign to support women's safety in cyberspace follows the Party chief's three priority directions to help women and girls master the digital space.

In terms of 'general safety', the campaign focuses on raising awareness, so that every woman and girl can be a knowledgeable and responsible Internet user and can help build a healthy and safe environment online.

For 'peace of mind', the goal is to make cyberspace into a friendly, humane environment for women and girls.

Finally, the main target for 'social security' is to transform the digital space into opportunities and leverage for women's entrepreneurial ideas, businesses and sustainable livelihoods, contributing to society and the economy.

The communication campaign will include standardised, diverse, easy to understand educational materials that are easy to apply in practice, as well as training courses on digital skills and information safety.

It will also have a set of mini-games and creative communication products on technology platforms.

Through these, the campaign aims to spread multiple messages to raise community awareness, promote women mastering the digital space and help strengthen inter-sectoral coordination in building a safe, equal and inclusive online environment. — VNS