Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc has approved the national action plan on preventing and combating violence and abuse of children in 2020-25. — VNA/VNA Illustration Photo

HÀ NỘI — Every child in the country will be provided with knowledge and skills to protect themselves against violence and sexual abuse by 2025.

This was a major target under the national action plan on preventing and fighting violence and abuse against children in 2020-25, recently approved by Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc.

The national plan also includes guidance for all parents on how to protect their children from violence and sexual abuse.

All staff working in the child-protection sector nationwide will be trained to improve their capabilities, Phúc said.

Under the plan, child-protection services will be set up and developed in all 63 provinces and cities.

All medical staff working at healthcare centres at both commune and district levels will be trained to better respond to children's healthcare needs by 2025.

Additionally, police officers in charge of investigating cases related to child violence and sexual abuse, will be trained with child-friendly investigation skills, the plan said.

The Vietnamese Government leader has also assigned the Ministry of Labour, Invalid and Social Affairs to co-operate with the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Public Security and local administrations in all locaities in the country to facilitate the implementation of the plan

The plan is believed to be necessary, as statistics from the labour ministry revealed that between 2011 and June 2019, up to five children suffered domestic violence and sexual abuse each day.

Nearly 3,500 cases of child violence and abuse were reported since 2017, until the first quarter of 2019, of which more than 60 per cent involved child sexual abuse.

National Assembly Deputy Triệu Thị Thu Phương from the northern province of Bắc Kạn said at the recent sitting of the parliament that these numbers were just the tip of the iceberg and the actual figure might be higher because children and their families often did not report cases for fear of bringing adverse impacts on them.

Data from the United Nations Children's Fund shows that Việt Nam now has 26.2 million people under the age of 18. — VNS