The conference on communication on the implementation of children's rights in 2022. (photo: VOV)

Dang Hoa Nam told a conference for the Month of Action for children and child protection in cyber space held on Wednesday in Hoa Binh province by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs in collaboration with Plan International Vietnam.

“We should increase social awareness and public behavior so that people can boldly speak up and denounce suspected child abuse acts. The authorities have promptly handled child abuse cases recently but we need to pay more attention to prevention. One of the key solutions is to mobilize society to promptly detect suspected child abuse acts and report them to the authorities,” Nam said.

As of February 2021, Vietnam had 72 million social media accounts and 68.72 million Internet users. During the COVID-19 epidemic, more people, including teenagers, have used the Internet for study, work, communication, and entertainment. It has increased gender-based risks and violation of children and teenagers online.    

Plan International Vietnam has worked with the Vietnamese government in the program "Protect and Support Children to Create Healthy, Innovative Interactions in Cyberspace, 2021-2025." The organizations has mobilized funds to launch the project "Protect children and young people to interact safely and creatively on the Internet".

The project, which runs from August, 2021 to July, 2024, helps children increase knowledge and skills to protect themselves and others from bullying and gender-based violence online, especially girls and vulnerable groups. It helps parents, caretakers, teachers, and adults use websites and social networks.