Save the Children International: standing with the LGBTQI+ community in Vietnam

Since 2013, Save the Children International has partnered with LGBTQI+ organizations in Vietnam to support children and youth with sexual diversity (SOGIESC) to accesseducation , health and social services.

Ensuring the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in criminal proceedings

Can Tho approves project to enhance capacity for LGBTI+ children and youth in Vietnam

Journey to living true to gender

Thanh*, 18, was often bullied by his friends when he was in school. The teasing and taunts from his friends were something Thanh will never forget. Thanh once trusted and confided in a few friends that he belonged to the LGBTQI+ community (the community of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex people), but instead of supporting them, those friends spread false rumors. “At that time, I was really heartbroken, but I didn’t have the courage to speak up for myself.”

At school, Thanh did not receive understanding from his relatives. From grandparents to parents, they did not have an open view of the LGBTI+ community, making Thanh even more closed. Thanh's mother often said: "You are a boy, boys have to be strong", this made him very sad, he did not dare to tell his mother the truth and often hid in his room alone.

When Thanh entered high school, his school launched a campaign to prevent school violence and bullying of LGBTQI+ students through a competition for students to make posters and videos on the topic. Encouraged by some of his classmates, Thanh told himself: “Let’s try it, I can’t be shy forever.” After that, he and a classmate from his community designed posters on gender-based violence. They also produced a video sharing their personal stories and their feelings when faced with gossip and sarcasm in the past. When these videos were widely shared, they received many comments expressing sympathy and support from their peers. Thanks to that, he gained the confidence to be himself, no longer felt ashamed and embarrassed, and felt comfortable sharing and talking openly with his classmates.

Thanh enthusiastically participates in activities of social organizations and the local LGBTQI+ community. (Illustration photo)

Since then, when social organizations and the local LGBTQI+ community visited the school, Thanh enthusiastically participated and shared with his friends knowledge about the topic of gender diversity, about commonly confused terms such as "sexual orientation" and "gender identity", and helped them distinguish other gender terms.

“I will enroll in the Biology Pedagogy Faculty of Can Tho University. My dream is to become a Biology teacher, to be able to share knowledge about gender issues with students and their parents,” Thanh shared.

Breaking down community stereotypes

Phuong* is the leader/director of the Red Group, a community group in Can Tho supported by a project of Save the Children International. The group was established to connect and provide support services to members of the LGBTQI+ community in Can Tho. Based on her understanding of the importance of accessing psychological and legal support services for people in the community, Phuong is trusted by many young people to share their private issues, difficulties and problems.

Phuong's current goal is to contribute to changing prejudices about people in the LGBTQI+ community, thereby creating a favorable environment, allowing them to maximize their potential and contribute to the community.

Save the Children International's project connects and provides support services to members of the LGBTQI+ community in Can Tho.

Throughout the implementation of Save the Children International’s projects, children and young people from the LGBTQI+ community have always actively participated and coordinated with the organization and local partners. This is not only the key to ensuring that Save the Children International’s activities are designed and implemented with quality, ensuring that the set goals are appropriate to the actual situation, but also to empowering children from beneficiaries to become active members promoting the implementation of children’s rights in Vietnam.

Thanh* and Phuong*: Names have been changed to ensure the safety of the individuals involved.

Save the Children International is a non-governmental organization working for children. Save the Children International began working in Vietnam in 1990 with a child nutrition project in Thanh Hoa province. Since then, the organization has expanded its programs to include six main areas of activity: education, health and nutrition, child protection, child rights governance, child poverty reduction, disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. Save the Children International is currently present in 22 provinces in Vietnam with more than 100 staff.

Can Tho organizes many practical activities to bring love to the LGBT community

The Union of Friendship Organizations of Can Tho City has just coordinated to organize a series of meaningful activities towards the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in Can Tho.

More than 5,000 LGBT youth and families have better lives from the project in Can Tho

On the afternoon of March 31, the Union of Friendship Organizations of Can Tho City (Can Tho Union) in collaboration with Save the Children International (SCI) in Vietnam organized the Project Summary "Children's Rights Governance - LGBT Children and Youth in Vietnam have access to education, health and social services".

Source: https://thoidai.com.vn/save-the-children-international-sat-canh-cung-cong-dong-lgbtqi-tai-viet-nam-201242.html