12 journeys from suffering to peace
At the launching event of the Social Assistance Center - Peaceful House on the morning of December 8, the Center for Women and Development (Vietnam Women's Union) and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women in Vietnam (UN Women) launched the book Going Towards Peace - Stories of women who suffered violence, abuse and human trafficking.
Bilingual book (Vietnamese and English), 200 pages thick, edited by the Center for Women and Development, published by Vietnam Women's Publishing House.
Walking towards peace includes 12 journeys from the darkness of suffering to the light of peace and serenity. They are 12 women among the 1,665 lives that have come to the Peace House over the past 17 years.
They were chosen to write, not because their cases were special, but because the 1,665 stories were special in their own way. They chose to tell their stories with the hope of spreading faith and hope to other women.
Book launch event "Going towards peace", morning of December 8 (Photo: Organizing Committee).
In Vietnam, the situation of women and children being subjected to violence, abuse and human trafficking is on the rise.
Violence against women has serious consequences for economic development and women's physical and mental health, with estimated economic losses equivalent to 1.8% of national GDP.
The Peace House model has been operated by the Center for Women and Development since 2007, providing comprehensive support to victims for 3-6 months (or extended depending on the case) to help them stabilize their lives and spirit, resolve difficulties and handle threats to their safety.
After returning home, Peaceful House continues to support them with legal issues, career guidance, job search, etc. to help them have a sustainable livelihood.
Ms. Truong Thi Ngoc Lan, communications officer of Vietnam Women's Publishing House (Photo: Organizing Committee).
Ms. Truong Thi Ngoc Lan, communications officer of the Vietnamese Women's Publishing House, said that the 12 stories in Going Towards Peace are all true stories, with some overly negative details removed but still ensuring authenticity.
Names of people and places have been changed for safety reasons. The people involved have given their full consent to this story being shared with the public.
"The difficulty for us is to convey the true story to everyone but not too tragic, not to scare readers and especially not to harm the characters," said Ms. Lan.
During the interview process of the 12 characters, the publishing house staff would always say: "If you feel like this question reminds you of the past, you can choose not to answer."
"We don't want the character's wounds to hurt again. Even though it's painful, we will still see light and hope in this book," Ms. Lan said.
"I escaped the cycle of domestic violence"
Ms. Nguyen Khanh Linh, Deputy Head of Social Work Department, Center for Women and Development, hopes that Going Towards Peace will be a message of encouragement for women who are victims of gender-based violence to speak up to receive support.
Cover of the book "Going towards peace" (Photo: BTC).
Ms. Pham Ngoc Lan, one of the 12 characters in the book, said that she used to be very shy and embarrassed to talk about her story. She had silently endured domestic violence for 18 years, thinking that it was her fate, until she learned about Peaceful House.
Here, she understood what the "cycle of violence" was, that domestic violence was not the victim's fault. If the victim did not speak up, the cycle would continue and they would never be able to escape.
Peace House has changed Lan's fate, the problem of domestic violence was completely resolved 7 years ago.
"There are women who think that they have to endure domestic violence so that their children can have both parents, but for me personally, that is wrong," she said.
When there is violence in a family, that family is no longer happy. When children have to live in a violent environment, it is torture for them.
"The Peace House has given me and my daughter a new life, helping my daughter continue to go to school and graduate from university with a good degree," she said, happy with her current life, no longer feeling ashamed of domestic violence, even though it is a wound that will never heal.
"I decided to tell my own story, hoping that women who are unfortunate enough to be in the same situation as me can find a way out, a way to completely resolve violence," said Ngoc Lan.
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