VietNamNet Bridge - Many sexual assault cases at school were only brought to light many years after they occurred. This is because the majority of the victims did not dare report the crime to the police.

La Linh Nga, deputy director of the Center for Education Psychology Science Research & Application

Two stories about sexual assault reported by local newspapers last week caught the special attention from the public. 

The first one was about a 14-year-old American boy who said Minh Beo, a well-known Vietnamese entertainer, sexually assaulted him. The second told about more than 20 students at a primary school in Lao Cai province who have been sexually assaulted for the last three years.

The American boy and the Vietnamese students reacted differently in similar situations. Why didn’t the 20 students report the sexual assault crime to parents, teachers and ask for the police’s help?

La Linh Nga, deputy director of the Center for Education Psychology Science Research & Application noted that a lot of her clients, especially secondary school students, decided to stay silent. They went to hospital or saw psychologists only when their situations got worse or suffered depression. 

Nga said they would not seek fe because of the victims’ shame and the lack of cooperation from parents. 

“In most cases, parents only paid attention to their children’s learning records, while they could not recognize the changes in the children’s behaviors and feelings,” she said.

“Therefore, children were not willing to talk with parents about what happened with them and they did not think of seeking support from parents and teachers,” she continued.

Many sexual assault cases at school were only brought to light many years after they occurred. This is because the majority of the victims did not dare report the crime to the police.

Also according to Nga, most of the sexual assault cases were discovered only when children showed abnormal behaviors. Many of them tried to commit suicide.

“My clients, who were students, said they learned anatomy at school. They were taught what they should do to avoid sexual assault. 

However, they did not know what to do if they were sexual assault victims,” she commented. “The issue is not mentioned in the textbooks on sex education."

Nga, who has a master’s degree granted by Toulouse Le Mirail University, commented that children in western countries will report sexual assault behavior to the police because of they are encouraged to protect themselves under the law. 

“They can receive legal education at school and they know what they need to do to protect their rights,” she said. 

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