(VOVworld) – A national campaign was launched in Hanoi on Tuesday in response to the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls.

Addressing the event entitled ‘Let’s take action to eliminate violence against women and girls’, Huynh Vinh Ai, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, said 58% of women have suffered from at least one of three forms of physical, spiritual, or sexual violence in their lives. This was one of the statistics released by the General Office of Statistics and the United Nations in Vietnam in 2010. About half of the victims have never told anybody about what had happened to them. 87% of the victims of domestic violence have never looked for support from public services. Violence not only affects women and girls physically and spiritually, but also causes economic losses to families and society. Deputy Minister Huynh Vinh Ai said:

“Vietnam is one of the countries soon to ratify the national treaty on the elimination of all kinds of discrimination against women and promulgate a law on gender equality, a law on domestic violence prevention and control, and a law on human trafficking, with the focus on measures to protect women and girls. The 2014 campaign once again reiterates the important role of coordination among government agencies, UN organizations in Vietnam, and international and domestic political, and social organizations to take joint actions to gradually eliminate domestic violence.”

This year’s communication campaign will include 42 events and last until 16 December, calling on men and boys to act in pursuance of the motto ‘Don’t swing your hands, let’s hold their hands’ toward a non-violent society.