VietNamNet Bridge – A school-based violence prevention project was launched in central Da Nang City on Monday by the Spanish NGO Paz y Desarrollo (PyD) and the central city's Department of Education and Training.

Called Hanh Trinh Yeu Thuong (The Journey of Love), the project aims to raise awareness among 11-14-year-old students of gender-based violence and guide children on how to manage emotions, resolve conflicts without violence and promote gender equity.

It also will create enabling environment within schools for gender violence prevention and mitigation through advocacy among students, teachers, students' clubs, and policy makers.

"Working with children who are still forming ideas about gender and violence has been proven internationally to be an effective strategy for preventing violence later on in life," said Benjamin Swanton, joint project manager.

The project will be implemented until 2014 with financial and technical support from the Spanish Agency for International Development and Partners for Prevention, a regional United Nations interagency initiative on gender-based violence in Asia and the Pacific.

It will be carried out in 10 junior high schools that are selected at random and later expanded to 10 more schools in the city.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News