Child sex abuse cases in Vietnam are on the rise, and thousands of victims have stepped forward in recent years, a new report shows.
The Ministry of Public Security released a report on Friday saying it had records of more than 4,100 child sex abuse cases from 2014 and 2016, and hundreds of the victims were less than six years old.
The report also said that more than 80 percent of the victims were girls, and around 11 percent of them were street children.
During the first six months of this year, another 696 child sex abuse cases were reported, the ministry said.
The figures translate into 1,300-1,400 cases of child abuse a year, 30-40 percent higher than between 2011 and 2015, according to a report from 2016.
Those at the highest risk live in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Tay Ninh Province and the Mekong Delta’s Kien Giang Province, the ministry said.
Officials said child abuse in Vietnam is getting worse, and even teachers are taking advantage of the kids they are entrusted and paid to chaperone.
The perverts are usually those who have a close relationship with their victims, such as family members, teachers and neighbors.
Nguyen Huu Su, deputy chief of the crime division at the ministry, said that fighting child sexual abuse is difficult due to the nature of the crime.
Most of the abuse goes unnoticed, he said.
Many victims are both too young and shocked to provide precise and consistent statements, he added.
Top police officers said it would be hard to use technical measures to prevent child sexual abuse, Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reported.
They said in order to stop children from being abused, families and schools need to keep an eye out for potential predators.