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Hy Vung Vietnam
Student clubs set up public awareness projects © Batik International / AFD
The French association, Batik International, has launched the Hy Vong (“Hope”) project in Vietnam, in collaboration with several local partners, to combat violence against women. Its aim is to protect victims, and prevent violence. The objective is also to provide care and raise awareness among Vietnamese people, in particular, by training students in gender and vulnerability issues.

The “Hope” project, (“Hy vong” in Vietnamese), was started in 2020 by the French Association, Batik International, in partnership with Planète Enfants & Développement (PE&D), the Vietnamese Center for Studies and Applied Sciences in Gender, Family, Women and Adolescents (CSAGA) and the Vietnamese Center for Supporting Community Development Initiatives (SCDI). 

Partly financed by AFD, through a grant of €450,000, this project aims to combat violence against women by focusing on four key areas:

  • Prevention through youth involvement
  • Protection of victims by improving current support procedures
  • Advocacy to promote gender equality and the stepping-up of civil society actions based on the sharing of experience
  • Methodology-sharing between the four associations involved

“The innovative aspect of this project is that it mobilizes students from five universities in Hanoi to work on micro-projects focusing on violence against women. At the end of the first round of training, run in 2021, the percentage of students with awareness of this issue rose from 10% to 60%”, says Ms. Thu Hang Nguyen, project manager at Batik International in Vietnam.

Student clubs, drivers of change

Young people from universities join student clubs (such as the “Changemakers” at the University of Transport and Communications in Hanoi), where they are trained in issues related to violence against women and gender equality. They also take courses on project management so they can lead micro-projects to raise awareness among the general public, from photo exhibitions and debates with experts to seminars, poster design and writing competitions.

“The students also feel more confident about confronting issues of violence against women in their communities,” says Nguyen. “They realize the seriousness of the problem and the challenges involved in supporting victims.” 360 students are expected to receive training in gender and vulnerability issues as a result of the project. 

See also: Cambodia: A Long Battle Against Gender Inequality


Taking action in response to worrying data

In a national survey on violence against women in 2019, 62.9% of Vietnamese women reported having experienced at least one form of violence in their lives (physical, sexual, economic and/or psychological) perpetrated by their spouse or intimate partner. 

Yet the overwhelming majority of women – 90.4% – did not report the abuse or seek help from the relevant authorities. These figures are in line with cultural constraints that keep them silent: 49.7% of women who did not seek help explained that they thought violence was “normal” or “not a serious issue”. Raising awareness is thus a key strategic line of action.

A scourge exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic

The number of cases of violence against women increased significantly during the Covid-19 pandemic. In Ho Chi Minh City, a day shelter for women and girls who have been victims of violence took in twice as many people during this period. A similar trend was observed by CSAGA, which reported a record number of calls about domestic violence via its dedicated hotline in 2020 (2,600 calls in 2020 compared to 1,500 in 2019). 

In addition, due to strict lockdown and social distancing rules, local authorities and organizations faced major issues in responding to requests.

Early results of the Hy Vong project offer hope

The first round of student clubs in 2021 has produced encouraging results. In Hanoi, for example, 76 university students have joined a club, and five awareness-raising micro-projects have been set up by the students, reaching around 500 people who will in turn share their knowledge with others. 

Moreover, in terms of victim protection, Hy Vong will provide support to 2,450 victims of violence, notably through the various actions below: 

  • Renovation of the day shelter in Ho Chi Minh City, led by PE&D and SCDI
  • The recent establishment, in collaboration with UNWOMEN, of a “one-stop center” bringing together all victim support services under one roof 
  • The reinforcement of the hotline developed by CSAGA

An awareness-raising initiative will inform 2,000 members of civil society about gender equality issues through training, seminars, exchanges and workshops.

AFD's commitment to gender issues 

AFD is committed to combating violence against women and promoting gender equality. Its “Gender and Development” approach aims to ensure a more equitable distribution of resources and opportunities and greater equality in terms of participation and leadership for fairer rates of development between women and men. To this end, AFD takes gender inequalities into account in all of its financing programs in order to find tailored responses to improve the integration of women.