Students and teachers at the workshop’s group discussion session on how to prevent sex abuse in schools. (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) - Oneof the solutions to prevent sexual harassment at school is to equip studentswith the necessary skills to identify signs of sexual abuse so that they areable to protect themselves, heard a workshop in Hanoi on December 27.
The workshop was held byKenan Institute Asia, as part of the US State Department-funded VietnamWomen Improving Lives and Leadership (Vietnam WILL) Project, which works tobuild the capacity of Vietnamese civil society organisations and publicagencies serving the needs of women.
Nguyen Duc Manh, Head ofthe Institute for Population, Family and Children Studies, cited the lateststatistics, according to which, each year, on average, there are some 1,000child sexual abuse cases in Vietnam, adding that this figure was unacceptablein a civilised society.
“The development ofmeans of communication is one of the leading causes of increasing child sexualabuse,” he said.
He said up to 45 millionpeople in Vietnam use the Internet. Among those, 33 per cent are students. Vietnamis also one of the countries with the highest number of mobile phone users inAsia. A survey in HCM City shows that 95 per cent of students in high schooluse mobile phones. Up to 73 per cent have two or more than two mobile phones.
“Students use mobilephones and the Internet for networking. ’Bad’ guys use this habit to lure andcheat students,” he said.
Nguyen Luong Thien, ateacher at Dinh Tien Hoang High School in Hanoi, pointed out other reasons forsexual harassment cases at school.
“Students’ access tosexual abuse knowledge is limited. They are not even aware about their right tobe protected when they raise their voice in case of sexual abuse,” she said.
“In addition, familiesand schools are not equipping students with self-protection skills.”
Doctor Nguyen Tung Lam, Chairmanof the Hanoi Education Psychology Association, said sexual abuse leaves anextremely harmful effect on students. In other countries, child sexual abuseoffences are subject to heavy penalties and punishment.
“Teachers and familiesmust have psychological knowledge to help sexually abused children overcome thetrauma,” he said.
At the workshop,psychological experts, parents, teachers and students of Dinh Tien Hoang HighSchool also participated in a round table discussion on measures to preventschool sexual abuse.
Measures rolled out bystudents include being proactive in searching for information aboutself-defence skills to protect themselves from sexual abuse, In addition, schoolsshould organise sex education lessons, not only for students but also forteachers and parents.
Other suggestionsincluded introducing hotlines to report sexual abuse or to consult and answerstudents’ queries. Each school was advised to have a psychological consultantroom.-VNA
The workshop was held byKenan Institute Asia, as part of the US State Department-funded VietnamWomen Improving Lives and Leadership (Vietnam WILL) Project, which works tobuild the capacity of Vietnamese civil society organisations and publicagencies serving the needs of women.
Nguyen Duc Manh, Head ofthe Institute for Population, Family and Children Studies, cited the lateststatistics, according to which, each year, on average, there are some 1,000child sexual abuse cases in Vietnam, adding that this figure was unacceptablein a civilised society.
“The development ofmeans of communication is one of the leading causes of increasing child sexualabuse,” he said.
He said up to 45 millionpeople in Vietnam use the Internet. Among those, 33 per cent are students. Vietnamis also one of the countries with the highest number of mobile phone users inAsia. A survey in HCM City shows that 95 per cent of students in high schooluse mobile phones. Up to 73 per cent have two or more than two mobile phones.
“Students use mobilephones and the Internet for networking. ’Bad’ guys use this habit to lure andcheat students,” he said.
Nguyen Luong Thien, ateacher at Dinh Tien Hoang High School in Hanoi, pointed out other reasons forsexual harassment cases at school.
“Students’ access tosexual abuse knowledge is limited. They are not even aware about their right tobe protected when they raise their voice in case of sexual abuse,” she said.
“In addition, familiesand schools are not equipping students with self-protection skills.”
Doctor Nguyen Tung Lam, Chairmanof the Hanoi Education Psychology Association, said sexual abuse leaves anextremely harmful effect on students. In other countries, child sexual abuseoffences are subject to heavy penalties and punishment.
“Teachers and familiesmust have psychological knowledge to help sexually abused children overcome thetrauma,” he said.
At the workshop,psychological experts, parents, teachers and students of Dinh Tien Hoang HighSchool also participated in a round table discussion on measures to preventschool sexual abuse.
Measures rolled out bystudents include being proactive in searching for information aboutself-defence skills to protect themselves from sexual abuse, In addition, schoolsshould organise sex education lessons, not only for students but also forteachers and parents.
Other suggestionsincluded introducing hotlines to report sexual abuse or to consult and answerstudents’ queries. Each school was advised to have a psychological consultantroom.-VNA
VNA
