Ba Ria-Vung Tau (VNA) – The national action month on gender equality andgender-based violence prevention and response was launched in the southernprovince of Ba Ria-Vung Tau on November 12 by the United Nations Entity forGender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) in Vietnam.

The month, lasting from November 15 to December 15, hasthe theme of "Ensuring social security, empowering and creating opportunitiesfor women and girls to achieve gender equality and eliminate violence againstwomen and girls".

This theme once again affirms Vietnam’s priorities andcommitments to promote gender quality substantively, contributing to helping womenand children living in difficult circumstances stabilise their lives, reducepressure and risk of violence and abuse, in the context that Vietnam is recoveringfrom the severe impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking at the launching ceremony of the action month,Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Ha affirmedVietnam’s commitments and efforts to ensure social welfare, promote genderequality and gender-based violence prevention and response over the past time,especially during the COVID-19 outbreaks.

She asked authorities at all levels, sectors and localitiesto focus on communication activities to raise awareness of agencies, organisations andpeople on gender equality; actively commit to and take concrete and practicalactions to build an equal society, free of violence and abuse against women andchildren.

Elisa Fernandez Saenz, Country Representative of UN WomenVietnam, shared specific recommendations to address the root reasons for genderinequality, discrimination and gender violence, including changes in socialnorms through developing a culture of respect and equality among all genders athome, at school, at workplace, in public places and even cyberspace.

These efforts need to be accompanied by strong politicalwill expressed through a comprehensive law and policy system, long-termevidence-based initiatives to change social norms, the provision of reliabledata on forms of gender-based discrimination and violence against differentgroups, and the availability of affordable, reliable gender-sensitive essentialservices to survivors of gender-based violence, emphasised Elisa Fernandez.

On behalf of United Nations organizations in Vietnam,Fernandez affirmed that the United Nations is committed to continuingto support Vietnam in promoting gender equality, eliminating discrimination andgender-based violence, towards achieving gender equality, toward realising theSustainable Development Goals.

Data show that in Vietnam, two out of three married women(nearly 63%) have experienced one or more forms of violence by their intimatepartners in their lifetime. The National Action Month is an opportunity for allstakeholders and citizens to take practical actions to eliminate gender-baseddiscrimination and violence.

The United Nations is committed to continuing to support Vietnam in promotinggender equality, eliminating discrimination and gender-based violence, andmoving towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, accordingto the UN Women Vietnam./.