Stories: Children, Community, Future

Last year, after an argument online with a friend, a video of A.*, a young student from southern Vietnam, being beaten was posted on Facebook. A. suffered injuries and had to be taken to the provincial hospital. After the incident, A. showed signs of confusion and anxiety, and did not want to go to school. After being notified, the National Child Helpline 111 appointed T. and her Critical Rapid Response Team (CRRT) to provide emergency psychological first aid to the child.

T. has been a National Child Helpline 111 counsellor since 2018 and is an active contributor to the CRRT – a branch of the helpline dedicated to directly assisting severe and special child protection cases. At the Helpline 111, 32 counsellors work in three shifts, 24 hours a day, tirelessly handling a continuous stream of calls day and night. T. and her colleagues play a crucial role in providing advice on various issues related to children, such as child abuse and violence, child-related policy and law, children’s relationships with friends, family, as well as concerns related to children’s psychological health.

During her time as a Helpline counsellor, T. encountered various obstacles and challenges. She said that a lack of communication and consultation skills and knowledge meant that she wasn’t always able to identify cases of abuse correctly and, therefore, unable to provide the appropriate support to victims. “There was one case where a child shared that they felt ashamed following an incident of abuse, and they expressed a reluctance to attend school” recalled T., who explained that she had predominantly asked closed ‘Yes/No’ questions. Subsequently, she could not understand the full scope of the problem and only gave the child predefined solutions.

That all changed when she enrolled in a ChildFund-supported training session for child protection professionals.

T. writing up a report after a call she received through the National Child Helpline 111.

ChildFund Vietnam, together with the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs is helping to build the capacity of the Helpline 111 counsellors like T. to strengthen the child-protection system across the country. T. shared: “Engaging in the capacity-building training within the project has equipped me with a wealth of knowledge in psychology, effective communication skills with children and their families, and enhanced teamwork capabilities. These comprehensive trainings have significantly improved the effectiveness of emergency assistance for children, especially in critical and emergency cases. The knowledge and skills gained from the training also helped me to empower children to raise their awareness and knowledge on preventing violence and abuse and to provide parents and caregivers with clear insights on how to care for, nurture, and protect children”. Since participating in the training session, T. and her team have successfully applied what they learned to assist many emergency cases, including A.’s.

At the hospital, T. and the CRRT worked to stabilise A.’s mood and taught A. relaxation techniques to reduce stress. They established a relationship with A.’s family to listen to their concerns and share with them knowledge about violence prevention and ways to respond in high-risk situations. Contacts of individuals and organisations that could provide more resources to support A’s recovery and future development were also given to the family. As this case stemmed from social media, T. coordinated with A.’s school to create a safe environment for A. to learn more about online safety and establishing healthy relationships.

After a month of psychological support from T. and her team (including 12 free psychotherapy sessions provided by the National Child Helpline 111), A.’s wellbeing has dramatically improved. A. now has less anxiety talking to people, gets better sleep, has less stomach pain and is attending school.

While there is still work to be done to strengthen Vietnam’s child protection systems, enhancing the capacity of counsellors like T. is critical in creating a safer environment for children. Thanks to the dedication of T. and countless other child protection professionals across the country, children like A. can say, “I am safe”.

*Names have been changed to protect individuals’ identities.