Mr. Pereric Hogberg, Ambassador of Sweden in Hanoi.

That information by Mr. Pereric Hogberg, Ambassador of Sweden in Hanoi sharing with Vietnam media in the launching event of the handbook “Respect! My Body” in Vietnamese on May 23. The launching event be take place in Trung Hoa secondary school, Cau Giay District, Hanoi by The Embassy of Sweden in Hanoi, Save the Children Vietnam and the Vietnam Program for Internet and Society under Hanoi University for Social Sciences and Humanities.
According to Mr. Pereric Hogberg, some parents feel confident dealing with more concrete issues like teaching their children the values of right and wrong. But you have to talk openly with young children about their own bodies, sexuality and boundaries. And most important, how do you teach children at an early age that their body is their own and that no one can touch it without permission. You have to warn them about inappropriate adult behaviour or help them respond when they feel threatened or uncomfortable.
To improve children’s abilities to recognise inappropriate physical contact and to empower children to protect themselves and disclose abuse should be a priority for all responsible adults.

Ms. Dragana Strinic, Country Director, Save the Children Vietnam.

At the event, Ms. Dragana Strinic, Country Director, Save the Children Vietnam said, there is no more beautiful, and at the same time, more difficult job, than being a parent. From the moment we become parents, our lives change and our main focus becomes responsibility for making sure that our children grow safe, healthy and happy.
However, often children do get in danger and they do get abused. In Vietnam, the public has recently been made aware of a number of cases of child abuse, including sexual abuse. According to statistics from Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, there were over 1,200 cases of child sexual abuse reported in Vietnam in 2016. The effects of such abuse on children are devastating.
We, adults, have responsibility to do our best to make sure that children are protected. Firstly, we need to be aware of what sexual violence and abuse is – that it is all conduct of a sexual nature that is forced on a child by another person, whether it is physical or non-physical. Secondly, we have to talk to children about body and its boundaries, and how to say yes and no. That way we build their sense of security and a sense of what is good and right.
In addition, save the Children would like to offer our contribution to this topic through Respect My Body! booklet. It is a handbook for grown-ups on how to talk with children about body boundaries and sexual abuse. It contains key contacts for reporting any suspected child abuse, after which multi-sectoral support mechanisms can be initiated. We hope the booklet will be useful material for parents, families and communities in Vietnam.

Launching a handbook “Respect! My Body!” Vietnamese version.

The handbook “Respect! My Body!”, released by Save the Children Sweden as part of their integrated child sexual abuse campaign, offers advice and tips to parents, teachers, educators, those work in NGOs and other adults on how to teach children of different ages to protect themselves from sexual abuse and how to speak openly about sexuality, private body parts, safe and unsafe touching, and what is and what is not allowed for adults to do when in contact with children.
This is a powerful book for enhancing children’s self-esteem. The handbook has been published in Swedish, English, Spanish, Arabic…etc and now, it is make available in Vietnamese version.