Vietnam marks one-year of the 'Shelter Self Improvement Project' | September 2010

Managers and staff from the eight shelters and reception centers serving victims of trafficking in Vietnam gathered in Lang Son this week, to mark the one-year anniversary of the Shelter Self-Improvement Project.  This project is supported by the United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP) with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

In the past year, shelter staff have undergone an intensive programme of training in shelter assessment; case management and shelter management; strengthening victim referral networks; and critical victim protection skills such as trauma counseling, victim interviewing, and designing effective age- and gender-appropriate shelter activities.  In addition to technical training, participants have engaged in shelter cross-assessments whereby teams of shelter staff visit the shelters run by their colleagues to assess conditions and make recommendations for improvements.

With regard to key achievements over the past year, shelter managers and counselors cited several practical ways that staff from different shelters have been able to exchange good practice and “tricks of the trade”. These include, for example, how to improve the development of personal plans for victims of trafficking, incorporate more empowering approaches to shelter management (for example engaging clients in the design of shelter activities and communal areas), and improve counseling and listening skills to build stronger trusting relationships with victims of trafficking. 

One of the key challenges identified was the difficulty in identifying and providing assistance to self-returned victims of trafficking.  Self-returned victims are not formally screened by authorities and thus do not hold any certification of their victim status that would provide them with rights to protection and services.  Several shelter staff shared their respective experiences in community-based outreach in hotspot areas to reach and connect with self-returned trafficking victims. 

“Our community-based counter trafficking efforts include raising awareness in the community about human trafficking, thereby also trying to reduce stigma for those affected”, says Mr Nguyen Van Thong, a staff member of An Giang Department of Social Evils Prevention.  

Another challenge recently identified by reception centre staff in the provinces of Lao Cai and Lang Son, on the China border, is the return of large numbers of male Vietnamese trafficking victims from China.  These victims are recruited and deceived to work on plantations, but receive no pay for their labour. 

“The men who are deceived to work in China are mostly from ethnic minorities in the region”, explained Mr. Vi Van Vong from Lang Son Reception Center. “Quite often they are not paid at all before returning back home.”

Under Vietnamese law, a January 2010 amendment of Vietnam’s Criminal Code expanded the definition of human trafficking to include men (in addition to women and children) as possible victims of human trafficking.  As a result, organisations working in Vietnam to provide services for trafficking victims are becoming aware of many more cases of human trafficking that involve male labour trafficking and exploitation.

The three main objectives of the ‘Shelter Self-Improvement Project’ over the past year have been to measurably improve the victim support services offered by shelters in Vietnam;  build the capacity of shelter staff to maintain uniform standards for victim care and support nation-wide; and build a sustainable network of victim service providers who know how to maintain these standards and can work to improve services and referral mechanisms over time. 
After a critical review of improvements in victim protection services as well as obstacles and challenges faced, the shelter network has proposed a strategy involving the drafting and adoption of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for within-network referrals, as well as standard tools to enhance communication, coordination, and tracking of trends and improvements over time.