Vietnam's Nomination for S/GWI Project Proposal 2010

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 HANOI 000196 SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MLS, S/GWI E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV KWMN VM SUBJECT: Vietnam's Nomination for S/GWI Project Proposal 2010 REF: 09 STATE 132094; 09 HANOI 1438 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Mission Vietnam is pleased to submit two distinct project proposals for consideration by S/GWI as part of the 2010 Small Grants Initiative (ref A). Domestic violence is a serious problem in Vietnam - one that is of growing concern to the Vietnamese government and public. The 2008 passage of a domestic violence law was a watershed development that signals a willingness by Vietnamese authorities to address the issue. Promoting the rights of women and supporting efforts to protect women in situations of domestic violence is a Mission priority that supports overall U.S. policy goals for Vietnam and globally. Post is proud to submit two small, yet highly effective Vietnamese NGOs committed to raising awareness of domestic violence and protecting the rights of women. We are confident these two projects, in conjunction with Mission's on-going outreach activities, will make a difference in Vietnam. End summary. A LONGSTANDING ISSUE ONLY NOW ENTERING THE PUBLIC DEBATE ¶2. (SBU) According to a variety of international and Vietnamese experts, domestic violence is widespread in Vietnam. A woman dies from domestic violence every three days in Vietnam; 14 percent of all murders in Vietnam are related to domestic violence, according to the Ministry of Public Security. By the first quarter of 2006 this number exceeded 30 percent. The same report also stated that more than 60 percent of divorces in 2005 were caused by domestic violence. Many Vietnamese believe domestic violence to be a private, family-related matter and it is rarely discussed in a public setting, allowing the cycle of violence to continue. Due to cultural perceptions that the role of Vietnamese women is to maintain harmony in the home, domestic violence is kept secret and women are taught by their peers and elders they must endure the situation without recourse. Only recently has the issue appeared publically. Meanwhile, the GVN has begun a campaign to address domestic violence, passing a comprehensive law on domestic violence prevention and control in 2007 that went into effect in 2008. ¶3. (SBU) Given the GVN's new activism on this issue, and in keeping with our previous domestic violence outreach activities, Mission Vietnam submits for consideration for S/GWI funding two small, but highly effective Vietnamese NGOs who are working to raise awareness and protect women faced with situations of violence. Our first proposal would support rural women in Hau Giang, a province in the remote southern Mekong Delta, by increasing the knowledge of both men and women there about women's rights through community education. This project will contribute to empowering women within their families and their communities to speak out against domestic violence. Funding this proposal provides support to a Vietnamese NGO that has demonstrated great resourcefulness and initiative to empower women within their own community. The second proposal is designed to raise awareness of gender-based violence among University students in Hanoi by educating young people about the destructiveness and illegal nature of domestic violence and equipping them for advocacy on the issue following graduation. By focusing on university students, this program hopes to educate the future women leaders of Vietnam. Detailed proposals have been emailed to S/GWI's Wenchi Yu, who is our office contact for Vietnam. MEETING UNITED STATES POLICY OBJECTIVES ¶4. (SBU) Mission Vietnam already has undertaken several initiatives to partner with local organizations, the GVN and INGOs to raise awareness of the dangers of domestic violence to societies worldwide. These initiatives include funding the United Nation's Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC) to assist Vietnamese law enforcement and prosecutors to investigate and prosecute domestic violence cases, partial funding of a ten part mini-series to raise awareness about domestic violence (this series was broadcast on national TV),presenting at NGO workshops on domestic violence as well as an Embassy hosted round table discussion on domestic violence (ref B). Both the executive and legislative branches of government in the United States have made recent policy pronouncements concerning the abhorrence of violence against women. Secretary Clinton has been a strong advocate to end violence HANOI 00000196 002 OF 004 against women. Throughout her travels she has called on "men and women in every country - to work together to end these atrocities." This month, the US Congress introduced a new bill entitled The International Violence Against Women Act. This Act would, for the first, time require the United States Government to address violence against women globally through integrated strategies across U.S. foreign policy and assistance programs. The two proposals we recommend below are consistent with the Secretary's larger policy goals of ending domestic violence and will complement existing mission programs as well. They are targeted, low-cost and, in our view, highly-effective initiatives to further the Secretary's goal and our wider Mission objectives. PROPOSAL ONE: Women's Rights and Gender Equality for Women in Rural Areas ¶5. (SBU) Hau Giang Province is a poor, rural area in the Mekong Delta near the bottom tip of Vietnam. Women's lives are restricted by unequal relationships between men and women at home, in the workplace, and in the community. In Hau Giang, women are expected to play a subservient role. Many women suffer from domestic violence in silence. Anh Duong Community and Development Center (ACDC) is a Vietnamese NGO focusing on poverty-reduction and community development in Hau Giang's poorest areas. Anh Duong's staff is 100 percent Vietnamese and works with 15 local communes. Anh Duong has a proven track record in the community and is well regarded by women there as a result of its previous activities, including: micro-credit loans to poor women, employment creation for women, action-theatre to promote awareness about gender equality, health education, and the promotion of inclusive education. In 2009, ACDC reached 1,159 households in fifteen localities. The NGO implements projects with local Vietnamese partners and asks locals to contribute from 30 percent to 50 percent of the budget in order to encourage capacity building, ownership and empowerment of the people in the community. PROPOSAL ONE: ACTIVITIES, BUDGET AND TIME FRAME ¶6. (SBU) The main objective of the proposal is to empower rural women in Hau Giang Province by increasing their knowledge about their rights through community education; ACDC proposes holding a series of "train the trainer" workshops focused on women's rights for the Vietnamese Women's Union (VWU) in 15 project communes. (Note: The VWU is a government sponsored NGO. In rural areas such as Hau Giang, the VWU is the only resource for social services and most women look to the VWU when assistance is needed. ACDC's training will improve the quality of social services women receive.) Additionally, every three months, as an advocacy part of the program, ACDC will invite a lawyer, psychologist, and sociologist to talk about subjects concerning women's rights. ACDC will work with the Women's Unions to establish a women's "club" in each commune, for the purpose of building networks of community support for participants. (Note: The rural areas of Vietnam often provide limited social services. The VWU and NGOs establish clubs to help provide support to women, i.e. those suffering from domestic violence. In these clubs women often learn about their rights under the law and different recourses available to them.) The women's clubs will also disseminate information on Vietnam's laws on domestic violence and create greater awareness of the issue. It is estimated that 450 village women will participate in this project. Husbands of members of the women's groups will be invited to participate in the training on women's rights creating a holistic and sustainable approach to the project. ¶7. (SBU) The total estimated program cost is approximately $26,470 to be shared among the three different contributors: S/GWI: $15,210 Anh Duong Center: $6,120 Donations of community members: $5,140 -------------- HANOI 00000196 003 OF 004 Project Total: $26,470 PROPOSAL TWO: Gender Based Violence Prevention - Awareness Raising, Education and Advocacy for University Students ¶8. (SBU) The Global Village Foundation (GVF) is a Vietnamese NGO, founded in 1999 by author and humanitarian Le Ly Hayslip, focusing on sustainable community development projects emphasizing education at the grassroots level. The organization, which has a predominately Vietnamese staff, is based in the central city of Hoi An, and works predominately with the rural communities of Quang Nam province. GVF's current projects include a portable mobile library, a dental health and education project, and a rural infrastructure development project. Recognizing the impact domestic violence has in Vietnam, GVF would like to expand its focus to include advocating against domestic violence. PROPOSAL TWO: ACTIVITIES, BUDGET AND TIME FRAME ¶9. (SBU) The "Stop Gender Based Violence" university program is designed to create awareness of gender-based violence in young adults and to create a new generation of advocates capable and willing to educate others in their community about combating domestic violence. Three Hanoi universities have been selected as pilot schools for the first phase (lasting approximately one year) of the program. Each university has an enrollment of approximately 5,000 to 7,000 students. The program, in partnership with the Youth Union (another government sponsored NGO that addresses issues facing young people in Vietnam) and the Women's Union, will establish student-led clubs at the universities, with the support of the faculty to create an institution-wide environment where domestic violence is publicly acknowledged and discussed in and outside of the classroom. The program will also use the university setting as a venue to educate student participants on how to work as advocates to address the issue of domestic violence. ¶10. (SBU) The total program cost would be approximately $73,217 as follows: Program staff: $10,700 Stipends- club leaders and internships: $10,800 Training: $2,000 Travel: $1,800 Questionnaire/First assessment: $1,000 Website development: $3,000 Technical Equipment: $3,000 Meeting room rentals & refreshments: $2,160 Teaching materials for clubs/classrooms: $600 Phones and office expenses: $1,200 Honoraria/Guest speaker/travel: $8,000 LOGO Sales at Cost: $6,000 Annual conference/workshop: $6,000 Public education/media/press conf/kits: $6,000 Contingency: $3,113 Management and oversight: $7,844 -------------- Project total: $73,217 HANOI 00000196 004 OF 004 Total grant request from Post for two proposals: $99,687 CONCLUSION ¶11. (SBU) The World Bank lists Vietnam as one of the world's most rapidly transforming countries, but some societal values remain intractable, including those regarding the role of women. Mission Vietnam's two proposals target women in different strata of Vietnamese society in two distinct regions of the country. The first proposal provides support to a local, grassroots community that has demonstrated great resourcefulness and initiative to educate women on their rights and combat this horrible crime within their own community. The second initiative focuses on the future of Vietnam. The acceptance of domestic violence, even among the well educated, is high. By focusing outreach on university students, this program hopes to educate the future leaders of business, politics and society in Vietnam on both gender equality and domestic violence. We recommend funding for both of these projects, which we believe can promote the empowerment of women and help Vietnam combat its domestic violence problem. ¶12. (U) Post action officer is Political Officer Audrey Moyer, moyeraf@state.gov, +84 4 850 5407. Backup contact is Michael Goldman, Deputy Political Officer, goldmanmb@state.gov, +84 4 850 ¶5141. ¶13. (U) This cable was coordinated with U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City. Palmer