MPS and UN Women enhance cooperation in fighting human trafficking
The Department of Foreign Relations under the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) in collaboration with the UN Women held a workshop titled “Prevention and response to violence against women and human trafficking” in Thanh Hoa on July 31.
The event saw the presence of officials from the MPS, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids & Social Affairs, the Vietnam Women’s Union as well as representatives from the European Union (EU) and UN agencies.
It is part of the Safe and Fair Migration Program funded by the EU, aiming at building capacity of the police force in charge of providing and transferring support services to victims of violence and human trafficking.
Data from a national-level survey on violence against women shows that two-thirds of the Vietnamese women has experienced at least one form of violence in their lifetime, and 90% of the Vietnamese women who has experienced violence has not sought help. Gender-based violence costs Vietnam's economy up to 1.8 percent of its GDP.
Meanwhile, human trafficking witnessed complicated developments.
According to information from the standing agency of the Government's Standing Committee for Crime Prevention and Control, functional forces in Vietnam investigated 90 cases and 247 people committing crimes of human trafficking in 2022.
Human trafficking is closely linked with labor migration, and recruitment may be conducted in many forms, especially on social networks.
The MPS of Vietnam and the UN Women have joinly developed guiding documents on protection and support for women experiencing violence and trafficking in persons, and methods of investigating gender-sensitive cases.
The Department of Foreign Relations under the MPS and the UN Women plan to organize training courses to introduce these documentations to more than 150 police officers across the country who are in charge of human trafficking investigation.
Speaking at the workshop, Senior Colonel Le Hoang Duong, Deputy Director of the Department of Foreign Relations, emphasized the practical value of the documents for the in-charge police force, especially at the grassroots level, to support and protect women who are victims of human trafficking.
Duong also appreciated the cooperation between the MPS and the UN Women, the EU in building capacity of the police force so as to effectively prevent and respond to gender-based violence and human trafficking in Vietnam.
Representatives from the UN Women and the EU highly appreciated the value of the guiding documents, saying that they serve as an important basis to fully protect all victims of violence and trafficking in persons.
Ms. Caroline T. Nyamayeombe, Acting Chief Representative of the UN Women, said that the in charge police force plays an important role in supporting victims of violence and trafficking in persons.
