HÀ NỘI — A project to prevent violence against women and to provide consultations for victims of gender-based violence was launched on Tuesday in Hà Nội.

The project, “Building a support model to respond to and prevent violence against women and girls in Việt Nam and consultation on essential services for survivors of gender-based violence”, was launched by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Việt Nam and the Korea International Co-operation Agency (KOICA).

Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Doãn Mậu Diệp said during the past years, the Vietnamese Government had made great efforts in ensuring gender equality and preventing violence against women and girls.

The national action month for gender equality and prevention and control of violence against women and girls, organised annually from November 11 to December 11, had brought in good results, he said.

However, Diệp added that work still encountered obstacles due to the shortage of psychological, legal and health consultancy services. Moreover, the capacity of workers in the field was still low.

He expressed gratitude to UNFPA and KOICA for their help and emphasised that the project’s launch marked the cooperation of the three organisations towards ensuring a society free from violence against women and girls.

Chairwoman of KOICA Lee Mi-kyung said that gender-based violence remained a big problem in developed and developing countries, affecting women of different socio-economic backgrounds.

The violence had serious consequences on not just the victims, but also on the nations’ development, she said.

Mi-kyung confirmed that the project would help protect the rights of women, promote gender equality and enhance cooperation between Korea and Việt Nam.

The project has a total budget of US$2.56 million for the period 2018-20, of which $2.5 million sources from official development assistance of KOICA and UNFPA.

Under the project, a support centre for victims of violence, especially sexual violence, will be built in the northern province of Quảng Ninh, where workers in the field will receive more training and different campaigns in the field will be organised in provinces to raise awareness on preventing violence against women.

Astrid Bant, representative of UNFPA Việt Nam, appreciated the cooperation between MOLISA and KOICA in improving gender equality and preventing violence against women during the past years.

UNFPA pledged to bring its international experience from other countries to ensure the project’s targets and expectations will be reached, and victims of violence can access supportive services, she said. — VNS