Australian-funded course helps improve social work for abused women, children amid COVID-19

Elisa Fernandez Saenz, Country Representative of UN Women in Vietnam (Source: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – More than 30 consultants and social workers, on February 26, began athree-day Australian-funded course that helps them improve their work toward abusedwomen and children during the current time of pandemic.

Sponsored by the Australian Government, the course is co-organisedby the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UNWomen) and Vietnam’s Centre for Women and Development (CWD) as part of aproject on emergency response to violence against women and children amidCOVID-19.

Participants are currently working at the CWD in Ho Chi MinhCity and Da Nang, as well as hospitals and social centres in the two cities.

During the training session, they will be provided withknowledge and skills to identify symptoms of stress and types of psychologicaltrauma as well as practice some first aid and psychological care methods.

Statistics showed that, in the context of the pandemic, therate of violence against women and children in Vietnam and in the world hasincreased by between 30 and 300 percent.

Nguyen Thi Thu Hoai, a social worker at CWD, said amidsurging number of calls to a CWD hotline for abused women and children inconjunction with the pandemic happening, knowledge from the course will helpher better approach and support the victims to soon ease their trauma./.

VNA