Training Government Staff

Hagar staff are passionate about building the capacity of other organisations and staff so that they can be more equipped at dealing with their own clients who have survived abuse. One of the recent capacity building projects our Hagar Vietnam team have been involved in is training government staff in Nghe An province. By conducting online trainings, Hagar staff have been able to provide valuable information to these government staff regarding abuse, trauma-informed care and how to best respond to needs in their communities.

In April 2021, for example, the Hagar project team helped this group of government staff work with male perpetrators of abuse who were identified by commune chiefs and Women’s Union representatives. During this project, Hagar was involved in helping assess what historic trauma the men had personally experienced that might be impacting their behaviour now. The team provided the men with opportunities to process their emotions including art therapy. The Hagar Vietnam team said of their sessions with these men:

“The participants initially found difficult to share but after the session, they opened up to share stories. Many people admitted that their current violent behaviour was related to their experiences of violence. The male and female members were motivated to share feelings with their partners, they apologized, thanked, some members even expressed their love and apology by companionship, with hugs, kisses. The results of the activity have created inspiration for healing and love with the members and it was a good basis to change their violent behaviour in the future.”

This work is a perfect illustration of Hagar’s belief that when healing happens, the cycle of trauma stops!

The government staff that Hagar are training are also currently working with a group of 18 women who have each experienced violence and are continuing to receive counselling. Hagar has been training the government staff in how to conduct these counselling sessions and assisting the group and staff when required.

In June, a Hagar Vietnam staff member said this about a group counselling session that had occurred:

“They were provided with knowledge about domestic violence, the cycle of violence, its consequences and emergency response methods. In the counselling session, they shared their stories of violence, as well as their experiences of overcoming violence, which inspired other members of the group positively. The collaboration and teamwork between group members has got better and better. The peer group has become a safe and positive environment for those experiencing violence to heal, learn and overcome violence together.”

One member shared:

“Coming to the group, I feel like I am real alive. I’m not afraid of violence anymore, standing among the group members, I have more hope and more confidence.”

These are great examples of how the capacity building work that Hagar Vietnam is doing with other organisations in Vietnam will hopefully prevent abuse from happening in the first place and ensure that other agencies, who are also working in this space, have the skills required to be able to understand and support survivors.