Resolution No. 121/2020/QH14 on further strengthening the effectiveness of policies and laws to prevent and combat child abuse

RESOLUTION

On further enhancing the effectiveness of implementing policies and laws on preventing and combating child abuse

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OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

On the basis of the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

Pursuant to the Law on Supervision Activities of the National Assembly and People's Councils No. 87/2015/QH13;

Pursuant to Resolution No. 76/2019/QH14 dated June 10, 2019 of the National Assembly regarding the National Assembly’s Supervision Program for 2020;

Pursuant to Resolution No. 81/2019/QH14 dated June 14, 2019 of the National Assembly concerning the establishment of the National Assembly’s Inspection Team on the Implementation of Policies and Laws on Preventing and Combating Child Abuse;

Based on the Report No. 69/BC-ĐGS dated May 19, 2020 of the National Assembly’s Inspection Team on the results of supervising the implementation of policies and laws on preventing and combating child abuse from January 1, 2015 to June 30, 2019, and the opinions of the National Assembly delegates,

RESOLUTION:

Article 1. Evaluation of Results

The National Assembly basically agrees with the contents of Report No. 69/BC-ĐGS dated May 19, 2020 of the National Assembly’s Inspection Team on the results of supervising the implementation of policies and laws on preventing and combating child abuse from January 1, 2015 to June 30, 2019.

In recent years, the system of policies and laws on protecting, caring for, and educating children, including those on preventing and combating child abuse, has been issued relatively fully, synchronously, and promptly to institutionalize the Party's guidelines and policies, closely following practical requirements, creating an important legal basis for the protection of children in general and the prevention and combating of child abuse in particular. The implementation of policies and laws on preventing and combating child abuse has achieved positive results. Efforts to promote, disseminate, educate about laws, knowledge, and skills related to preventing and combating child abuse have received more attention, contributing to raising awareness and responsibility among families, schools, agencies, organizations, and society as a whole in preventing and combating child abuse, while also helping children enhance their understanding, knowledge, and skills in self-protection. The application of support and intervention measures for children at risk of abuse and abused children has been emphasized more. Most cases and crimes of child abuse have been timely and strictly handled, contributing to preventing violations and crimes against children.

Alongside these achievements, there are still some limitations and inadequacies in the implementation of policies and laws on preventing and combating child abuse. Some provisions of the Law on Children and other relevant laws have not been timely and adequately guided, causing difficulties in organization and implementation; sanctions stipulated in some decrees on administrative penalties related to preventing and combating child abuse are too light, failing to ensure deterrent effects. Domestic violence against children is often not detected or dealt with. Protecting children in cyberspace is an urgent requirement but the laws have not been fully and timely provided. The content and form of promoting and educating about laws are slow to be updated and are not suitable for certain groups of people and characteristics of residential areas, especially in ethnic minority regions. The construction of safe and healthy living environments to prevent and combat child abuse in many localities has not been given appropriate attention; there are no effective measures to prevent and reduce illegal child labor; many places lack recreational, entertainment, cultural, physical, and sports activities for children. The inspection, supervision, and handling of acts of child abuse in some localities have not been conducted regularly, promptly, and effectively. If effective preventive measures are not taken in the future, the situation of child abuse will continue to evolve complexly and increase.

There are many reasons for the shortcomings and inadequacies in the implementation of policies and laws on preventing and combating child abuse, with subjective reasons being the main ones. Some local party committees, governments, and functional agencies have not fully recognized the importance and have not truly paid attention to the protection, care, and education of children, including the prevention and combating of child abuse. State management over the prevention and combating of child abuse has not been entirely effective. Some agencies, organizations, and authorized individuals have not fulfilled their assigned responsibilities. Cooperation between local authorities, agencies, organizations, and families in preventing and combating child abuse in many cases has not been substantive and effective. The negative impacts of the market economy, unemployment, difficult living conditions, the negative influence of the internet and social media... are also factors that lead to incidents of child abuse. Human resources working in child-related work are insufficient in number, often兼任多职且经常变动，一部分人员的专业知识、业务技能和工作经验仍显不足。用于保护儿童工作的财政预算和物质设施仍然不足，未能满足需求。

Article 2. Tasks and Main Solutions

1. For the National Assembly:

a) Continue to improve policies and laws related to preventing and combating child abuse;

b) The Ethnic Committee and the Committees of the National Assembly should pay special attention to issues related to children and preventing and combating child abuse during the review of draft laws, ordinances, and resolutions of the National Assembly and its Standing Committee.

The Committee on Culture, Education, Youth Affairs, and Children of the National Assembly shall conduct regular supervision of the work of protecting, caring for, and educating children.

The Committee on Social Issues of the National Assembly shall strengthen supervision of the implementation of policies and laws on preventing domestic violence, particularly child abuse within families.

The Legal Affairs Committee of the National Assembly shall conduct regular supervision of the investigation, prosecution, and trial of cases of child abuse;

c) Delegations of the National Assembly shall strengthen supervision of child protection and the prevention and combating of child abuse at the local level;

d) National Assembly members shall strengthen supervision of the prevention and combating of child abuse and fully implement the provisions of Clause 4, Article 79 of the Law on Children.

2. For the Government:

The Government is required to take measures to address the shortcomings identified in the report of the Inspection Team, reduce the number of children subjected to abuse, and focus on implementing the following tasks and solutions:

a) In 2020, promulgate the National Action Program for Children for the period 2021-2030, the Program to Prevent and Reduce Child Labor in Violation of Laws for the period 2021-2025 with a view to 2030, and a set of statistical indicators on the handling of administrative violations against acts of child abuse;

b) Review and promptly amend, supplement, or issue new policies and laws within their authority or submit to competent authorities for issuance of relevant policies and laws concerning children, meeting practical requirements and being consistent with international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member;

c) Direct ministries, functional agencies, and local authorities to develop solutions to fundamentally improve work on propaganda, dissemination, and education on laws protecting children, knowledge, and skills in preventing and combating child abuse. Innovate propaganda, dissemination, and education on laws protecting children, prevention, and combating child abuse in both content and form, ensuring practicality and suitability for different groups, regions, and ethnic minorities, with particular emphasis on sex education, reproductive health, guidance for children to recognize risks of abuse, and skills in prevention and self-protection. Direct media organizations to allocate special sections and columns suitable for children to guide them on knowledge and skills in preventing and combating child abuse; strengthen information and propaganda on the internet and social networks; provide information and skills in preventing and combating child abuse to parents of students;

d) Direct ministries, functional agencies, and local authorities to organize specialized inspections and checks on prevention and combating child abuse; emphasize responsibility and strictly handle the responsibility of heads of agencies, units, and localities where many cases of child abuse occur under their management without effective measures or violations of laws on child protection and prevention of child abuse;

e) Direct ministries, functional agencies, and local authorities to effectively perform inter-ministerial coordination in implementing tasks related to child protection and prevention of child abuse; enhance training on knowledge and skills in child protection for staff involved in child protection, care, and education; monitor, statistically record, and take measures to gradually eliminate early marriage;

f) Invest in and develop child protection services; create favorable conditions for mobilizing resources from domestic and foreign organizations and individuals to participate in activities assisting, caring for, and protecting children;

g) Allocate appropriate funds for child protection work generally and for prevention and combating child abuse specifically;

h) Ensure conditions for organizations representing the voices and interests of children and facilitate social organizations in fully fulfilling their responsibilities under the Law on Children;

i) Strengthen security measures in public places, gradually equip security surveillance systems, especially in school areas, residential buildings, and children's recreational areas;

k) Direct the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs:

- Monitor the statistics on children and child abuse nationwide; in 2020, lead and coordinate with relevant ministries and agencies to promulgate a set of statistical indicators on the situation of children and child abuse;

- Lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Information and Communications, the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, and other relevant ministries and agencies to compile model materials on propaganda, dissemination, and education on laws, knowledge, and skills in general child protection and specifically in preventing and combating child abuse;

- Regularly conduct specialized inspections and checks on prevention and combating child abuse annually;

- Continue to develop social work professions, train social workers, and support children in special circumstances;

l) Direct the Ministry of Education and Training:

- In 2020, promulgate the Program on Prevention and Combating Child Abuse in Educational Environments;

- Strengthen legal education, life skills, and self-protection skills for students, particularly those in special circumstances, boarding schools, and children at risk of abuse; equip teachers with skills to handle situations in preventing and combating child abuse; develop content guiding students on safe and effective internet use, incorporating this into the computer education curriculum;

- Enhance school counseling and school social work;

m) Direct the Ministry of Information and Communications:

- In 2020, promulgate the Program on Prevention and Combating Child Abuse on Online Platforms;

- Take measures to intensify communication efforts on prevention and combating child abuse on online platforms;

n) Direct the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism:

- In 2020, promulgate the Program on Prevention and Combating Child Abuse in Family Environments;

- Prioritize building cultural and sports facilities for children, especially in economically and socially disadvantaged areas;

- Strengthen management measures for tourism activities to prevent risks of child abuse through tourism. Coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security to strictly manage tourism operators, especially foreign tourists with criminal records of child abuse visiting Vietnam;

- Lead and coordinate with relevant agencies, organizations, and local authorities to intensify moral and healthy lifestyle education in families to gradually eliminate domestic violence, early marriage, abandonment of children, and outdated customs harmful to children;

- Lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs to promulgate regulations on cooperation between the two ministries in family work and child work, focusing on preventing and combating child abuse in family environments;

o) Direct the Ministry of Health:

- In 2020, promulgate Special Procedures for Forensic Examination in Cases of Sexual Abuse of Children;

- Request medical examination and treatment facilities to prioritize medical examinations and treatments for child victims of abuse; forensic medical organizations to prioritize forensic examinations for child victims of abuse;

p) Direct the Ministry of Justice:

- Take the lead and coordinate with relevant ministries and sectors to guide and direct the promotion of propaganda, dissemination, and education on laws related to preventing and combating child abuse; address the formalism and low effectiveness of these activities in recent times;

- Take the lead and coordinate with relevant ministries and sectors to guide and direct the strengthening of legal aid work during the process of handling cases of child abuse;

- Implement measures to end illegal adoption practices;

q) Direct the Ministry of Public Security:

- Continue to review and provide specific guidance on preventive professional work, receiving and handling reports and complaints regarding sexual offenses against children;

- Issue regulations on friendly investigation in cases of child abuse; promote the implementation of the "Friendly Investigation Room" model at provincial and municipal public security agencies; issue and implement plans to prevent and combat online child abuse crimes; enhance training for investigators in knowledge and skills for handling child abuse cases;

- Direct investigative agencies at all levels to ensure that the rate of accepting reports and complaints about criminal offenses and recommendations for prosecution in cases of child abuse reaches 100%; the resolution rate of reports and complaints about criminal offenses and recommendations for prosecution in cases of child abuse exceeds 95%; 100% of cases showing signs of criminal offenses must be prosecuted for investigation according to the law; the investigation and discovery rate of child abuse crimes exceeds 80%, with serious and especially serious crimes exceeding 90% of total prosecutions; control and reduce child abuse crimes by 5% to 7%; build models for preventing child abuse, preventing, educating, and assisting juvenile offenders;

- Strengthen the protection of safety for child victims of abuse; promptly send victims for forensic examination or cooperate with child protection service facilities and medical examination and treatment facilities to collect evidence in a timely manner, including mental health damage assessments for children;

- Fully and promptly grasp information on individuals with prior convictions for child abuse and implement preventive measures as prescribed by law. 

3. For the Supreme People's Procuracy:

a) In 2020, take the lead and coordinate with relevant ministries and sectors to develop and issue a joint Circular on the coordination between judicial organs in the process of receiving reports and complaints about criminal offenses, recommendations for prosecution, prosecution, investigation, indictment, and trial of sexual offenses against children;

b) Direct procuracies at all levels to apply comprehensive measures to effectively perform their prosecutorial functions and supervise the handling of child abuse cases; closely cooperate with investigative agencies from the moment of receiving reports and complaints about criminal offenses and recommendations for prosecution of child abuse cases to promptly collect evidence, protect and support child victims, accelerate case resolution, and prevent the escape of criminals; ensure that decisions to prosecute child abuse cases are made within the prescribed time limit at 100% and that the correct charges are brought against defendants at 100%; enhance training for prosecutors in knowledge and skills for handling child abuse cases;

c) Complete statistical indicators on crimes where children are victims of abuse.

4. For the Supreme People's Court:

Continue to guide the uniform application of laws, particularly provisions of the Criminal Code related to acts of child abuse with issues identified through summaries of trial practices; ensure timely, accurate, and strict sentencing for perpetrators of child abuse; ensure friendly court proceedings, continue to establish Family and Juvenile Courts as prescribed by the Law on the Organization of the People's Courts; the resolution rate of child abuse cases exceeds 90%; enhance training for judges in knowledge and skills for handling child abuse cases. 

5. For the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and its member organizations, social organizations:

a) Propose the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and its member organizations to strengthen supervision and make recommendations to state agencies in the development and implementation of policies and laws on preventing and combating child abuse; increase measures for propaganda, mobilization, and supervision of policy and law implementation on preventing and combating child abuse at the grassroots level; actively carry out tasks of protecting, caring for, and educating children in conjunction with the "All-Voluntary Movement for New Rural Areas and Civilized Urban Areas" and other movements and campaigns launched by member organizations of the Vietnam Fatherland Front;

b) The Central Committee of the Communist Youth Union of Ho Chi Minh City directs youth organizations at all levels to strengthen propaganda, mobilization, and supervision of work on preventing and combating child abuse; organize the collection and submission of opinions and recommendations from children in a substantive manner; strengthen monitoring of case resolutions by agencies and feedback to children on the results of resolving their opinions and recommendations;

c) The Central Committee of the Vietnam Women's Union directs women's associations at all levels to strengthen supervision of work on preventing and combating child abuse; propagate and mobilize members to participate in preventing and combating child abuse, supporting children and families with child victims of violence and abuse;

d) The Vietnam Children's Rights Protection Association organizes connections and collection of information and recommendations from social organizations and children related to preventing and combating child abuse and promptly express opinions and recommendations to state agencies on issues related to preventing and combating child abuse; 

đ) Encourage social organizations to participate in protecting children in accordance with the law. 

6. For local authorities:

a) People's Councils at all levels, within the scope of their duties and powers:

- Enact Resolutions to implement and enhance supervision over the implementation of policies and laws concerning children, including measures to prevent and combat child abuse at the local level as stipulated in Clause 3, Article 79 of the Children Law;

- Strictly comply with the provisions of the Children Law regarding contact and listening to the opinions and wishes of children;

- Based on the local budget capacity, allocate appropriate funds for child care and protection work generally, and specifically for preventing and combating child abuse, in accordance with the provisions of the State Budget Law;

b) People's Committees at all levels, within their respective functions and powers:

- Strengthen policy-making and issuance of legal documents, directives, operational plans, and programs on child protection work, including prevention and combat of child abuse, in line with the actual situation of the locality;

- Annually report to the same-level People's Council on the implementation of children's rights and resolution of issues related to children in the locality, including the implementation of prevention and combat of child abuse as stipulated in Clause 3, Article 90 of the Children Law. The People's Committee at the commune level shall report to the same-level People's Council on the situation and results of preventing domestic violence against children as stipulated in Clause 5, Article 35 of the Law on Prevention and Control of Domestic Violence;

- Ensure that children at risk of abuse are provided with support measures, and children who have been abused are provided with intervention measures; among which, early attention should be given to groups of children at risk of abuse to prevent such abusive behavior from occurring;

- Direct competent agencies, within their respective functions and powers, to strengthen inspection and supervision of child abuse prevention and control work; organize specialized inspections on child abuse prevention and control annually; reasonably arrange work for commune-level child protection officers to ensure full responsibility fulfillment as prescribed by the Children Law;

- Prioritize land allocation and investment in building playgrounds, entertainment venues, cultural, artistic, and sports activities for children;

- Continue to mobilize resources from individuals and organizations both domestically and internationally for children's work;

Article 3. Implementation Organization

1. The Government, the Prime Minister, Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, agencies under the Government, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuracy, People's Councils, People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities, within their respective functions and powers, direct the organization of implementation and inspection of this Resolution. The Government shall report to the National Assembly on the results of implementing this Resolution at the second session of the 15th National Assembly;

2. The Standing Committee of the National Assembly, the National Ethnic Council, Committees of the National Assembly, Delegations of the National Assembly, National Assembly deputies, People's Councils at all levels, the Vietnam Fatherland Front and its member organizations, within their respective functions and powers, supervise the implementation of this Resolution;

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This Resolution was adopted by the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the 14th term, the 9th session, on June 19, 2020;

                                                                                                                            CHAIRMAN OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

                                                                                                                                         (Signed) 

                                                                                                                           Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân