Ninh Binh, Viet Nam — The Department of Cyber Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention and the Women’s Union of Viet Nam’s Ministry of Public Security (MPS), in collaboration with UN Women, organized a workshop titled "Women, Peace and Cyber Security - Improve the awareness and capacity for women and girls in responding to challenges in cyberspace" in Ninh Binh, Viet Nam on June 22, 2024. It discussed cyber threats toward women and girls and equipped participants with the knowledge and resilience needed to effectively navigate and respond to these cyber threats.

The workshop was attended by leaders from the Department of Cyber Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention, the Party and Political Work Department, the Ninh Bình Provincial Police, representatives from functional units of MPS, the Central Vietnam Women's Union, MPS’s Women's Union, and representatives from 24 Northern provinces and various related departments. It also included discussions with students, teachers, and staff of Luong Van Tuy High School in Ninh Bình, encouraging critical dialogue on these urgent issues.

This workshop kicked-off the implementation of Viet Nam's first National Action Plan (NAP) on Women, Peace, and Security (WPS). One of the tasks and solutions identified by the NAP is to “Enhance the effectiveness of prevention and response to gender-based violence (including technology-facilitated violence), meet specific needs, and promote meaningful participation of women in addressing war consequences, and in the prevention, control, handling, and response to incidents, disasters, and non-traditional security challenges.”

Lieutenant Colonel Trieu Manh Tung, Deputy Director of the Department of Cyber ​​Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention and Control at the Ministry of Public Security, said “the workshop is one of the practical actions in the Ministry of Public Security's Plan to advocate and implement the ‘Preventing and combating criminal activities in cyberspace’ campaign under the direction of the Prime Minister on mobilizing the combined strength of the entire political system, in all sectors, branches, levels, organizations, businesses, and with all people to fight against cybercrimes. The workshop facilitates a dialogue between leaders, cybersecurity experts, party committee leaders, local authorities, Women's Union officials at all levels and advocates. It raises awareness and capacity for women and girls to respond to cyber challenges, and also build and replicate good models and practices in supporting women to respond to challenges in cyberspace.”

Major General Ngo Hoai Thu, Deputy Director of the Department of Party and Political Work - Ministry of Public Security, and Head of the Women's Department, stated that “with the continued advocacy and practical guidance from Viet Nam Women’s Union members, the impact and effectiveness of this workshop will be extended and widely spread, especially among students.”

Speaking at the workshop, Gaelle Demolis, Governance, Peace and Security Policy and Programme Specialist from UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific stated: “the digital ecosystem grows, so do the challenges it presents. The rise of cybercrime, cyberattacks, and cyber harassments and violence poses a constant threat to individuals, organizations, and even the peace and stability of nations. The need to ensure the protection of vulnerable groups, especially women and girls, against those security issues is also becoming more urgent and demanding.”

Author: Thao Hoang

At least 1,443 vulnerable women affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in Tien Giang Province, southern Viet Nam, have received cash grants of VND 5.5 million (USD 200) each, along with new skills training from UN Women to rebuild their livelihoods.

When all her goats died and Nguyen Phuong lost her job at the fish factory during the COVID-19 pandemic, she and her family of four knew they were facing tough times.

“My family’s income depended on my husband’s job as a coconut picker and my work as a cat-fish semi-process slicer. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, we could earn up to VND 5 million (nearly USD 200) per month. The pandemic disrupted [everything, including] my plan to fix the leaky roof of our house,” said Nguyen Phuong, 45, in the Song Thuan commune.

“The pandemic is over now, but it still impacts our lives severely. The fish factory has fewer orders, and they never call me back to work. We had borrowed VND 20 million (around USD 800) to buy the goats [that died], and the debt will be due soon. I could not sleep well for many nights.”

Fortunately, Phuong’s headache has been partly solved. In November 2023, Phuong’s family, together with vulnerable women in 11 districts of Tien Giang Province, received a cash grant of VND 5.5 million (around USD 200) from UN Women through the Tien Giang Women’s Union, allowing them to rebuild their livelihoods.

Phuong invested her grant wisely, using it to restart her small farm by buying two pigs and following training from the Women’s Union on proper care and management. The newfound knowledge and financial support has brought her hope. Phuong anticipates earning up to VND 10 million (about USD 400) by selling the pigs after Tet (the Lunar New Year).

“I will use the money earned from selling the pigs to fix my house’s leaky roof and buy more piglets so that my family will not have to worry about our meals in the coming days.”

Another cash grant recipient was Le Kim Tien, 29, a mother with disabilities who has a 4-year-old son in Binh Duc commune, Tien Giang Province. She lost all her savings as well as income from her small grocery shop due to COVID-19 but has now regained her resilience.

“I lost all my goods, which cost VND 8 million (USD 320) because the majority of the instant noodles, milk and cookies expired due to the COVID-19 lockdown. With my disability, I can’t find a job in my commune and have no land for agricultural work,” she says. “In October 2023, I obtained funds from UN Women to expand my small shop. I diversified my goods and also acquired new skills for online sales and improved business management. These skills have enhanced my [online marketing] channels and enabled me to attract more customers [beyond just my neighbours], doubling my income.”

From October to December 2023, all the cash grant recipients in Tien Giang, including Tien and Phuong, underwent diverse skills training, covering livestock rearing, crop cultivation, economic management and business start-up. The trainings also covered topics such as how to prevent gender-based violence.

Nguyen Thi Kim Phuong, Chair of the Tien Giang Women’s Union, stresses the significance of the financial support provided: “It is an essential lifeline to vulnerable women, helping them rebuild their livelihoods during challenging economic and climate change circumstances.”

UN Women’s “Emergency Response and Recovery Support for Women at Risk of Violence Most Affected by COVID-19” project, funded by the Government of Australia, enabled this transformation. The grants, directly distributed to a total of 3,388 women in both Tien Giang Province and Ho Chi Minh City by their respective provincial Women’s Unions, prioritized the most vulnerable, including women-headed households, pregnant women, women with children under the age of 2, individuals with disabilities, migrant workers, women with HIV, survivors of violence, and women over the age of 60 who have been impacted by COVID-19.

Duong Khanh Ly, the founder of a tea cooperative in northeast Viet Nam, had a problem.  

Severe downpours would often soak tea leaves that had been left outside to dry, spoiling entire batches and cutting into the profits of the co-operative’s 15 female members.  

So, Duong approached CHIASE, a non-governmental organization and partner of the United Nations’ EmPower programme, which helps women become more resilient in the face of climate change. 

CHIASE supported the cooperative as it accessed a collateral-free, low-interest loan that members used to construct a solar-powered building for drying leaves and other agricultural products. Since then, production has surged, says Duong, a 33-year-old mother of two who lives in the Bắc Kạn region. 

Launched in 2018, EmPower is led by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and UN Women. The effort is designed to tackle a problem many women face across the Asia-Pacific region: a lack of access to credit.  

The initiative works with banks to develop loan products that allow women and other marginalized groups to purchase renewable energy equipment and other clean technologies. That gear, which includes solar-powered water pumps and irrigation systems, also helps rein in emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases. 

The first phase of EmPower benefited some 473 women-led micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), and the second phase, launched in 2023, is expected to support 1,600 women-led MSMEs. 

“This programme shows the transformative power that accessible and affordable financing can have on the lives of women,” says Dechen Tsering, the Acting Interim Director of UNEP’s Climate Change Division. “It also demonstrates that renewable energy is a viable alternative to fossil fuels, which is crucial at a moment like this.” 

Her comments follow a new report from UNEP that reveals the Earth is heading for a 2.6°C to 3.1°C rise in temperatures before century’s end, an increase that could prove catastrophic.  

This week, country representatives are in Baku, Azerbaijan for the UN Climate Change Summit (COP29), where, among other things, they will explore how to drum up financing for renewable energy projects, especially in the developing world.  

Efforts like EmPower, which enlist the private sector, are considered an important part of that push. UNEP’s recent Adaptation Gap Report found the world needs US$187-359 billion per year to adapt to climate change, financing that developing countries in particular, would be hard-pressed to marshal. 

On 20 November, COP29 featured a day devoted to the importance of gender equality in responding to the climate crisis, which weighs disproportionately on women and girls. 

In Viet Nam’s Bắc Kạn district, Duong’s community is doing all that it can to adapt to climate change. The new drying house sits atop a hill to safeguard it from floods. The building features a curved roof, similar to a greenhouse, and covers 10 square metres. The structure is made out of polycarbonate sheets and uses sunlight to generate heat, which dries tea leaves laid on orderly of racks. A small solar-powered fan provides electricity to ventilate the drying house.  

The setup is a dramatic improvement for the cooperative. Members used to dry tea leaves outside, forcing them to quickly collect the produce whenever rain threatened. They would also constantly flip tea leaves to ensure they were thoroughly dried, something they no longer need to do with the new drying house.  

“In the past, drying tea and bamboo shoots was very difficult. If it rained and the products couldn’t be collected in time it was all ruined,” says collective member Dang Thi Nga. 

The drying house has not only increased productivity but also the quality of the cooperative’s products, leading to higher incomes for the community, said Duong. The collective members also received training in production, business planning, online selling, and how to prepare for natural disasters. The co-operative is now planning to expand production, develop new products and register their tea for trademark protection.  

EmPower aims to mobilize US$20 Million in gender-responsive investment for renewable energy entrepreneurship in Viet Nam, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia and Philippines. The effort could potentially benefit more than 100,000 women.  

“The EmPower programme is showing that women can become more resilient to climate change and lead the push into a sustainable, equitable future,” said Tsering. 

UN Climate Change Conference   

The  29th session of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29)  is being held in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 11 to 22 November. It aims to drive action on climate change by reducing emissions and halting global warming. You can follow live COP29 updates on  UNEP’s climate action feed.   

The Sectoral Solution to the climate crisis    

UNEP is at the forefront of supporting the Paris Agreement goal of keeping global temperature rise well below 2°C, and aiming for 1.5°C, compared to pre-industrial levels. To do this, UNEP has developed the Sectoral Solution, a roadmap to reducing emissions across sectors in line with the Paris Agreement commitments and in pursuit of climate stability. The six sectors identified are: energy; industry; agriculture and food; forests and land use; transport; and buildings and cities. 

EmPower: Women for Climate-Resilient Societies Programme 

Jointly implemented by UN Women and the UNEP with support from the Governments of Germany, New Zealand, Sweden and Switzerland, EmPower is dedicated to empowering women and marginalized groups to take the lead in building climate-resilient communities.