Joint Circular No. 143/2011/TTLT-BTC-BVHTTDL stipulates the management and utilization regime for state budget funds allocated for family violence prevention and control work; state budget funds supporting non-state-run facilities that assist victims of family violence and provide advice on preventing and controlling family violence.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Regulations on the management and use of state budget funds allocated for

family violence prevention,and combating; state budget funds supporting

facilities assisting victims ofdomestic violence, non-state facilities providing counseling on

preventing and combating domestic violence

Pursuant to the Law on Prevention and Combating Domestic Violence and Decree No. 08/2009/NĐ-CP dated February 4, 2009 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Prevention and Combating Domestic Violence;

Pursuant to the State Budget Law and Decree No. 60/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 6, 2003 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the State Budget Law;

Pursuant to the Decree No. 118/2008/NĐ-CP dated November 27, 2008 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

Pursuant to Decree No. 185/2007/NĐ-CP dated December 25, 2007 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism;

The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism jointly issue regulations on the management and use of state budget funds allocated for family violence prevention and combating; state budget funds supporting facilities assisting victims of domestic violence, non-state facilities providing counseling on preventing and combating domestic violence as follows:

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

These Circulars regulate the preparation of budgets, management, use, settlement of accounts for state budget funds for family violence prevention and combating, and the support from state budget funds for facilities assisting victims of domestic violence, non-state facilities providing counseling on preventing and combating domestic violence.

Article 2. Applicability

1. State agencies, political organizations, and socio-political organizations are assigned to carry out activities in the work of preventing and combating domestic violence.

2. Non-state facilities assisting victims of domestic violence and non-state facilities providing counseling on preventing and combating domestic violence that meet the conditions specified in Clause 1, Article 19 of Decree No. 08/2009/NĐ-CP dated February 4, 2009 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Prevention and Combating Domestic Violence shall be eligible for financial support.

Article 3. Explanation of Terms

In this Circular, the following terms are understood as follows:

1. Victims of domestic violence are individuals who have been or are being subjected to one or more acts of violence as defined in Clause 1, Article 2 of the Law on Prevention and Combating Domestic Violence committed by family members (family members include: spouse; paternal grandparents; maternal grandparents; biological parents; parents-in-law; adoptive parents, step-parents; biological children, adopted children, children of the wife, children of the husband, daughters-in-law, sons-in-law; grandchildren of the paternal grandparents, grandchildren of the maternal grandparents; siblings with the same father and mother, same mother but different fathers, same father but different mothers, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law of individuals with the same father and mother or same father but different mothers, same mother but different fathers).

2. Individuals admitted to facilities assisting victims of domestic violence are victims of domestic violence (victims of the acts defined in Clause 1, Article 2 of the Law on Prevention and Combating Domestic Violence) who have been or are at risk of serious harm to their lives, health, mental well-being, and psychology.

3. Individuals admitted to facilities providing counseling on preventing and combating domestic violence include: victims of domestic violence; individuals committing acts of domestic violence, alcoholics, drug addicts, gamblers, individuals preparing for marriage, individuals harmed or at risk of harm to their lives, health, mental well-being, and psychology due to acts of domestic violence, and other individuals requiring counseling on preventing and combating domestic violence.

Article 4. Source of Funding

1. Annually, the State allocates funds from the state budget for the work of preventing and combating domestic violence in accordance with the laws on the state budget.

2. Funds for the tasks of preventing and combating domestic violence of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, central agencies, and central agencies of political organizations and socio-political organizations are allocated within the annual regular expenditure budget of these agencies, units, and organizations.

3. Funds for the tasks of preventing and combating domestic violence of localities are guaranteed by the local budget and are allocated within the annual regular expenditure budget of various levels of the local budget.

Chapter II

SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

Section 1

REGULATIONS ON THE MANAGEMENT AND USE OF STATE BUDGET FUNDS ALLOCATED FOR FAMILY VIOLENCE PREVENTION AND COMBATING

1. Expenditure on training, retraining, enhancing professional skills, and training to improve capabilities for cadres, civil servants, employees, and volunteers involved in the work of preventing and combating domestic violence:

Article 5. Content and Levels of Expenditure

a) Training targets include: cadres, civil servants, employees, or volunteers working in the prevention and combating of domestic violence at communes, wards, towns; counseling facilities, facilities assisting victims of domestic violence; cultural and social cadres and cadres of social organizations at the commune level who are in good health and have a need for training in the prevention and combating of domestic violence;

b) Content and expenditure levels are implemented in accordance with Circular No. 139/2010/TT-BTC dated September 21, 2010 of the Ministry of Finance regarding the preparation of budgets, management, and use of state budget funds for training and enhancing cadres and civil servants.

2. Expenditure on information dissemination and publicity to raise awareness among cadres, civil servants, employees, and the public about preventing and combating domestic violence:

a) Expenditure on publicity through mass media (radio, television, press); building and operating websites; developing, producing, duplicating, and distributing various types of communication products according to approved budgets. Implementation is carried out through competitive bidding for asset purchases to maintain the regular operations of state agencies; ordering services or signing contracts between publicity agencies and mass media outlets;

b) Expenditure on organizing contests and disseminating laws on preventing and combating domestic violence approved by competent authorities. Content and expenditure levels are in accordance with Circular No. 73/2010/TTLT-BTC-BTP dated May 14, 2010 of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice guiding the preparation, management, and use of funds to ensure the work of popularizing and educating the law.

b) Organize contests to promote knowledge and dissemination of laws on preventing and combating domestic violence, subject to approval by competent authorities. The content and funding levels shall be in accordance with Circular No. 73/2010/TTLT-BTC-BTP dated May 14, 2010, issued by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice, guiding the preparation, management, and utilization of funds for legal education and promotion activities.

3. International cooperation expenses: the content and amount of expenditure shall be implemented in accordance with the regulations on the expenditure system for receiving foreign guests to work in Vietnam, organizing international conferences and seminars in Vietnam; overseas work expenses as stipulated in Circular No. 01/2010/TT-BTC dated January 6, 2010, detailing the expenditure system for receiving foreign guests to work in Vietnam, organizing international conferences and seminars in Vietnam, and hosting domestic guests; in accordance with current regulations on travel expense allowances for state officials undertaking short-term missions abroad funded by the state budget.

4. Expenses for investigation, survey, and information collection on domestic violence to develop plans serving the work required by state management directives on preventing and combating domestic violence. The content and amount of expenditure shall be implemented in accordance with current regulations guiding the management of funds for investigations from state budget sources as stipulated in Circular No. 58/2011/TT-BTC dated May 11, 2011, detailing the management, use, and settlement of funds for conducting statistical surveys.

5. Training, deployment of tasks, inspection, interim review, final evaluation, and assessment of the implementation of activities related to the prevention and control of domestic violence. The content and amount of expenditure shall be implemented in accordance with Circular No. 97/2010/TT-BTC dated July 6, 2010, issued by the Ministry of Finance, detailing travel expense allowances and conference organization expense systems for state agencies and public service units.

6. Reward expenses in activities related to the prevention and control of domestic violence. The amount of expenditure shall be implemented in accordance with current regulations on the state's incentive and reward system as stipulated in Circular No. 02/2011/TT-BNV dated January 24, 2011, guiding the implementation of Decree No. 42/2010/NĐ-CP dated April 15, 2010, of the Government detailing certain provisions of the Law on Incentives and Rewards and the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Incentives and Rewards.

7. Compensation expenses for individuals directly involved in the prevention and control of domestic violence who suffer property damage when the perpetrator is unable to compensate for the damage.

8. Expenses for managing activities related to the prevention and control of domestic violence in residential areas:

a) Expenses for supporting reliable addresses recognized by the Chairman of the People's Committee of communes/towns/districts and publicly listed within the area;

- Expenses for supporting victims of domestic violence temporarily staying at community reliable addresses, with a maximum support level of VND 40,000 per person per day for rural areas and VND 50,000 per day for urban areas but not exceeding three days per temporary stay.

- Expenses for supporting medicine cabinets and various types of bandages, gauze, antiseptic medicines placed at community reliable addresses, with a maximum annual expense level not exceeding VND 200,000.

b) Expenses for supporting tea and water for community meetings to provide feedback and criticize individuals with violent behavior, expenses for mediation in the field of preventing and controlling domestic violence; expenses for supporting activities of models for preventing and controlling domestic violence, expenses for organizing Vietnam Family Day, and recognizing individuals and residential areas with outstanding achievements in implementing activities to prevent and control domestic violence; expenses for collecting information on domestic violence cases: The support level is decided by the People's Committee of the commune from the commune budget, not exceeding VND 2,000,000 per year per residential area.

9. Expenses for the activities of public support centers for victims of domestic violence and counseling centers for preventing and controlling domestic violence (implemented under the financial mechanism stipulated in Decree No. 43/2006/NĐ-CP dated April 25, 2006, of the Government detailing the rights to self-management and self-responsibility for performing tasks, organizational structure, staffing, and finance for public service units). Expenses for supporting non-public support centers for victims of domestic violence and counseling centers for preventing and controlling domestic violence (specifically provided in Section 2, Chapter II of this Circular).

10. Other expenditure items directly related to management activities in the prevention and control of domestic violence in state agencies, central and local political organizations, and political-social organizations.

Article 6. Establishing budget estimates, implementing and finalizing state budget funds for family violence prevention and control activities

Annually, along with establishing state budget fund estimates, based on the volume of necessary work to be implemented and the contents and levels of expenditure stipulated in this Circular, state agencies, political organizations, and socio-political organizations at central and local levels shall establish budget estimates for implementing the contents of family violence prevention and control activities, submit them to the financial authorities at the same level for review and consolidation, and then submit them to the competent authority for approval to allocate into the annual state budget estimates of the agency or unit.

The establishment of budget estimates, implementation, and finalization of state budget funds for the expenditures specified in this Circular shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the State Budget Law and guiding documents of the Law.

Section 2

EXPENSE SUPPORT FOR ESTABLISHMENTS ASSISTING FAMILY VIOLENCE VICTIMS AND NON-GOVERNMENTAL FAMILY VIOLENCE PREVENTION AND CONTROL ADVICE CENTERS

FAMILY VIOLENCE VICTIMS, NON-GOVERNMENTAL FAMILY VIOLENCE PREVENTION AND CONTROL ADVICE CENTERS

NON-GOVERNMENTAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PREVENTION AND COMBATING

Article 7. Non-governmental establishments assisting family violence victims and non-governmental advice centers for family violence prevention and control shall be supported financially

1. Non-governmental establishments assisting family violence victims and non-governmental advice centers for family violence prevention and control shall be established according to the guidelines set forth in Circular No. 02/2010/TT-BVHTTDL dated March 16, 2010 of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism detailing procedures for registration of operations, dissolution of establishments assisting family violence victims; advice centers for family violence prevention and control; standards for counselors; issuance of counselor identification cards, certification of care and counseling skills, and training in family violence prevention and control.

2. Non-governmental establishments assisting family violence victims and non-governmental advice centers for family violence prevention and control shall be supported financially by the state in the following cases:

a) The establishment is located in areas with many family violence victims as determined by the People's Committee of the province;

b) The establishment is located in remote and far-flung areas (areas defined in Joint Circular No. 11/2005/TTLT-BNV-BLDTBXH-BTC-UBDT dated January 5, 2005 issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, Ministry of Finance, and the National Ethnic Minorities Commission regarding regional allowance regulations), areas with difficult economic and social conditions, and areas with extremely difficult economic and social conditions.

3. The People's Committee of the province shall assign tasks to specialized agencies to base their recommendations on the scale, effectiveness of operations, and number of beneficiaries assisted by these establishments in the preceding year, and the conditions stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article, to propose a list of non-governmental establishments assisting family violence victims and non-governmental advice centers for family violence prevention and control that will receive financial support from the state budget.

Article 8. Principles of Financial Support

Non-governmental establishments assisting family violence victims and non-governmental advice centers for family violence prevention and control that receive financial support from the state budget shall be based on the number of beneficiaries assisted by the establishment.

Beneficiaries at non-governmental establishments assisting family violence victims who serve as the basis for determining the level of financial support from the state budget are family violence victims as defined in Clauses 2 and 3 of Article 3 of this Circular, holding identity papers (ID card, passport) as prescribed by law, and a letter of introduction from the People's Committee of the commune, ward, or town where they reside; in urgent cases, within three days of being received and cared for by the establishment, the victim must have a letter of introduction from the People's Committee of the commune, ward, or town.

Article 9. Level of Support

1. Level of support for non-state family violence victim assistance facilities:

Based on the proposal of the specialized agency, the People's Committee of the province decides annually to provide financial support for part of the expenses for food, essential personal items, and routine medical examinations for victims requiring urgent protection during their stay at the facility. The maximum level of financial support for the facility is 300,000 VND per family violence victim supported by the facility.

2. Level of support for non-state family violence prevention and control counseling facilities:

Based on the proposal of the specialized agency, the People's Committee of the province decides annually to provide financial support for part of the expenses for counseling services for family violence victims and perpetrators. The maximum level of financial support for the facility is 30,000 VND per individual counseled by the facility.

3. Family violence victim assistance facilities and family violence prevention and control counseling facilities specified in Clause 1 of Article 7 shall be trained and professionally instructed annually by state management agencies responsible for family violence prevention and control.

Training and instruction costs for participants from facilities specified in Clause 2 of Article 7 shall be paid by the organizing agency according to current financial regulations.

Article 10. Budget Preparation, Allocation, and Settlement for State Financial Support

1. Annually, along with the preparation of the state budget expenditure plan, the specialized agency (assigned by the provincial People's Committee to propose the list and level of support for non-state family violence victim assistance facilities and family violence prevention and control counseling facilities) prepares the budget for implementing the support and submits it to the same-level finance agency for review and consolidation to be included in the annual budget plan of the assigned specialized agency for approval by the competent authority.

2. The specialized agency assigned to allocate financial support to the facilities based on the support decision of the competent authority shall implement the settlement of support funds according to current regulations. Settlement vouchers for state financial support include: Decision on the list of facilities receiving financial support from the provincial People's Committee, a consolidated list of victims and those counseled by the support facility confirmed by the specialized agency, and other relevant vouchers.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 11. Implementation Provisions

1. This Circular takes effect from December 10, 2011.

2. During implementation, if there are any difficulties, units are requested to promptly report to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for research and resolution./.