"Seizing our potential" was developed by iSee and UN Women with a strong support from a network of CSO working on ethnic minority to promote gender mainstreaming initiatives on the empowerment of ethnic minority women. The publication targets policy makers and highlighted initiatives on the empowerment of ethnic minority groups and women, to provide valuable examples on the empowerment of ethnic minority women. The publication captures the inspirational stories of 12 women from ethnic minority communities in Viet Nam. UN Women and iSEE hope that the stories told in this publication will inspire organizations and individuals to galvanize initiatives and actions for gender equality and women's empowerment and above all, to sincerely listen to women's needs and aspirations so that they may truly become agents of changes for themselves and their communities. This publication is developed with the financial support from Irish Embassy in Viet Nam.

The report provides a baseline for monitoring progress on gender equality within the SDG framework and identifies priority actions towards achieving gender equality in the region. It provides the first assessment for Asia and the Pacific of how the 2030 Agenda is to be achieved by addressing gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.

Related documents:

APSDG-Summary_web.pdf

APSDG-Infographics-25oct2018.pdf

Viet Nam is an ethnically diverse country with 54 recognized ethnic groups, of which 53 are minorities. The majority of the population (85.5 per cent) belongs to the Kinh ethnic group, and the 53 other ethnic groups in Viet Nam account for the remainder of the population and total about 13.4 million people. Many of the ethnic minority groups are concentrated in geographically remote and mountainous regions of the country. Inequalities between the Kinh ethnic group and ethnic minority groups remain wide and persistent, especially in education and training, employment and income, and health care and reproduction. The gender gap among and within ethnic minority groups also persists.

The policy brief document has been developed based on the findings from the Survey on the Socio-Economic Situation of the 53 Ethnic Minority Groups in Viet Nam (2015) and other studies on ethnic minority groups conducted recently in Viet Nam. It aims to support the process of policy development and implementation in ethnic minority areas in Viet Nam and effectively contribute to the inclusive promotion of gender equality in ethnic minority areas in line with the commitments of the Government of Viet Nam to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Over several years, UN Women (The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women) has accompanied CSAGA in many women rights advocacy activities.

In 2017, we decided to incorporate the prevention of sexual violence against women and girls as one of the main contents of the 16 Days campaign to end violence against women and girls, starting from International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (25th November) to International Human Rights Day (10th December).

A key activity in 2017 was the exhibition titled "Portraits of the Goddess." Throughout this book, many portraits, stories and inner strengths of the women of different social groups, ethnic groups and countries have been brought out to the world. They have been brave enough to speak out, breaking the silence and changing their own way of life, and leaving painful experiences sinking into the past.

This book reflects the commitment of UN Women and CSAGA to a vision of "Leaving no one behind"" - where the experiences of girls and women - victims of violent forms are heard and be considered in policy development as well as response measures, to ensure that their needs are met to the fullest extent possible.

This study provides new insights into how women perceive the justice system in Viet Nam and how the victims are treated. When the very actors tasked with facilitating access to criminal justice instead "counsel" and pressure victims to settle cases out of court, or treat them without regard for their dignity or privacy, it should come as no surprise that many women eventually give up on a system which is often unresponsive to their needs. When the criminal justice system fails to fulfill women's human rights, this contributes to perpetuating cultures of reconciliation, cultures of invisibility, and cultures of impunity. This impunity – an exemption from punishment and accountability – fuels violence against women, reducing the impact of advocacy and hard-fought policy achievements.