Hanoi – On September 22, 2023, a free legal consultation service for male perpetrators or men at high risk of perpetrating violence against women and children was launched in Hanoi with the witness of nearly 30 delegates and partner agencies.
Free legal consulting services for men provided by the Center for Legal Advocacy and Policy Research (CLAP) under the Institute for Social Development Studies (ISDS) ) in collaboration with the Men Network for Gender Equality and Sustainable Development (VNMENNET) pilot implementation under the support of the United Nations Agency for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) in Vietnam within the framework of the Joint Program to Eliminate Violence against Women and Children for the period 2021-2025 funded by the Australian Government.
Legal advice service for men (including gay men and transgender men) aims to provide a complete package of legal services for men who commit violence against women and children including but not limited to: providing information and legal advice; Legal aid, representation in and out of proceedings, judicial assistance (notarization, authentication, bailiff). The service aims to raise legal awareness of gender equality and gender-based violence as well as child protection for these subjects, aiming to end acts of violence against women. women and children and increase men’s participation in the process of ensuring gender equality and ending gender-based violence.
The service will be deployed in both face-to-face and online forms. Intending to ensure that services are always available and most accessible to customers, CLAP has cooperated with many partners throughout the country, including offices and law firms; legal aid centers; notary offices and bailiffs; and also technology companies to deploy and maintain service delivery. Customers can come to CLAP’s office or CLAP’s partners nationwide to receive information, advice and analysis directly from lawyers and legal consultants. Or, customers can contact CLAP via phone, social network Zalo, Facebook, email, or Electronic Law application on smartphones for advice and answers. All customer information will be kept confidential.
At the launch ceremony, findings from the “Report on Evaluating Service Models for male perpetrators of Violence in the World and Vietnam” were also shared. This is the first report in Vietnam to review approaches and service delivery models for men who commit acts of violence against women. ISDS and VNMenNet hope that the report will provide useful information for policymakers as well as community organizations working in the field of ending gender-based violence.
Upcoming information and activities related to free legal consulting services for violent men will be updated on the Center for Legal Advocacy and Policy Research website at https:// clap.org.vn/. In addition, activities will also be introduced on the website: https://isds.org.vn/, fanpage: https://www.facebook.com/isdsvn, and fanpage: https://www.facebook. com/vnmennet.
