Ha Thi Quynh Anh

Programme Specialist on human rights and Gender - United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

"Although UNFPA works with various partners, Australia has always been one of our closest. Without the cooperation and support from Australia, it would be very challenging for us to generate data and provide evidence base recommendations to advocate and assist the Vietnamese government and relevant agencies in developing suitable policies and action programmes."

From 2005 to 2007, Ha Thi Quynh Anh went to Australia under a scholarship funded by the Australian government for her Master's program in Development Studies. Her study and research at the University of Melbourne equipped her with valuable experiences on her path to advocate for gender equality and ending harmful practices and violence against women and girls, particularly women with disabilities in Vietnam.

Ha Thi Quynh Anh described the relations between Australia and Vietnam in gender equality as close and effective. The experiences from Australia are fully applicable in Vietnam, and other countries have been seeking to learn what Vietnam has achieved. The mutual cooperation has yielded genuinely positive outcomes.

Throughout the past decade, Quynh Anh has been a dedicated and effective coordinator of Australia's support programmes for Vietnam at UNFPA.

A significant impact of these programmes was the support for the amendment of the law on domestic violence prevention and control. UNFPA organised study visits to Australia for senior government leaders from Vietnam to learn how these types of laws were effectively designed and implemented in Australia. The lessons learned were incorporated into the amended Law on Domestic Violence Prevention and Control, which were passed by the National Assembly in November last year (2022).

Quynh Anh said that compared to the previous version, the revised laws have three progressive elements. The first is a legal approach based on human rights, with the core focus on the victims; the second is that the mobilisation of men and boys in prevention and control of domestic violence; the third is highlighting the role of social organisations alongside state agencies in this area.

Australia's support programmes for Vietnam at UNFPA also include assistance for the Second National Study on Violence Against Women in Vietnam in 2019. This research collected reliable data that contributed to the development of other important policy documents and programmes such as the National Strategy on Gender Equality for the 2021-2030 period, the National Programme on Gender-based Violence Prevention and Response for the 2021-2025 period, the Action Programme on Domestic Violence Prevention and Control in Vietnam by 2026, with a vision towards 2030. Thanks to Australia's support, Vietnam became one of the first countries in the world to conduct the national survey on violence against women and girls for the 2nd time, and many other countries have sought to learn this approach from Vietnam.

In addition to these significant impacts, Quynh Anh also mentioned Australia's support in programmes aiming to intervene and eliminate violence against women and children in Vietnam amid the urgent context of COVID-19 in 2020. This was followed by the establishment and operation of one-stop service centres supporting victims of violence in Vietnam. These one-stop service centres are a great pride to her as this model is the first of its kind in Vietnam, where victims of violence can seek and receive all the essential support services 24/7 including health, social, police and justice in a coordinated manner instead of having to go to multiple places to report and seek supports.

Ha Thi Quynh Anh is wholeheartedly dedicated to her work at UNFPA and holds high regard towards her experiences working with Australia. She said: “Although at UNFPA, we work with various partners, including development partners and donors, Australia has always been one of our closest.”