Dragon Bridge remains orange for 60 minutes every night before changing color as usual to respond to the Month of Action for Gender Equality and Prevention and Response to Gender-Based Violence 2025 launched by the City People's Committee.
The color of a global campaign
In 2008, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) chose orange as the color of the Global Campaign to End Gender-Based Violence. Since then, orange has been present on hundreds of architectural works and in countless media campaigns across continents as a symbol of hope and zero tolerance for violence against women and children.
Da Nang has also joined that trend. For many years, the City Women’s Union and relevant agencies have chosen orange as the main color for their communication campaign on preventing and responding to gender-based violence.
At Dragon Bridge, from mid-November every year, the orange color is maintained steadily from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm every night. During that short time, many residents and tourists stop longer than usual to both admire and read the billboard placed at the head of the bridge to better understand the message behind the light. A few streets away, the headquarters of the City Women's Union also glows in orange every night. In recent times, orange has become a visual highlight in the communication campaign on gender equality and violence prevention in Da Nang.
Da Nang is the second city in the country and the 56th in the world to be recognized by UN Women to participate in the Global Core Initiative “Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces”. This helps the city access international models on gender-based violence prevention, thereby building solutions suitable to local conditions. According to the President of the City Women’s Union Hoang Thi Thu Huong, the real strength of the communication campaign lies in creating a community capable of recognizing, responding and supporting each other. “We want people to understand that protecting women and children is not the sole responsibility of authorities or social organizations, but a shared responsibility of the community. A small action, a piece of advice, a call for support or timely intervention all contribute to reducing violence and creating a safer environment.”
Regularly providing psychological counseling to children with neurological disorders, Dr. Tong Thi Luyen, Department of Child Psychiatry, Da Nang Psychiatric Hospital, emphasized the importance of building a culture of respectful and equal behavior right from the family, school and workplace. When aware of the rights of themselves and others, each individual will proactively prevent violent acts and encourage victims to confidently seek support.
Strengthening solutions to protect women and children
The preliminary results of the 5-year implementation of Directive No. 39-CT/TU dated April 24, 2020 of the Standing Committee of the City Party Committee on "Building a safe and violence-free Da Nang city for women and children" show that in 5 years, there were 147 cases of child abuse and 345 cases of domestic violence in the city. Many of them thought that if they were patient, they would have a chance to live a happier life.
Ms. LTH (38 years old), a victim of domestic violence in Lien Chieu ward, still remembers the feeling of being pushed to the wall one night in early October. She said that her husband, after being unemployed and often drunk, took all his anger out on his wife and children. "I used to endure because I thought my children needed a complete family. But the more I endured, the more outrageous my husband became," Ms. H. shared. That night, when the couple had a conflict that led to a fight, fearing that she would get into trouble, she decided to call the hotline of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Women's Union for help. As soon as she was connected, the Women's Union of the ward, together with the local government and the local police, quickly investigated the incident. Thanks to the authorities' active analysis and legal advice, Ms. H.'s husband admitted his wrongdoings and pledged not to repeat them.
Accompanying victims like Ms. H. are the Association's staff, local authorities, police and social workers. According to the Department of Home Affairs, in recent times, the number of women and children seeking counseling has increased. This does not mean that violence is increasing, but shows a trend of women boldly speaking out, no longer suffering in silence as before. In particular, when the city implemented Directive No. 39-CT/TU, many models on preventing and responding to violence and abuse against women and children were born, which greatly contributed to detecting, denouncing and promptly preventing acts of violence and abuse.
Particularly at the Women's Union levels, a network of 50 community counselors was formed, following each residential group and apartment complex to listen and support. More than 300 "Trusted Addresses" were digitized by QR codes, put on Google Maps and connected to the S-App application so that people in danger could call for help with just one touch. Hundreds of safe houses, shelters, rapid response teams, and Men's Pioneer Clubs have helped many women and children get through long, uneasy nights.
Ms. Dang Thi Lieu, a member of the Club "Pioneer Core in Preventing Violence against Women and Girls", Hoa Cuong Ward, said that in mediation sessions in residential areas, she had witnessed many cases where people hesitated when asked about the reasons for enduring prolonged violence. Many women were worried that their neighbors would know and their children would be affected. Patiently listening, without judgment, she and the Club members always tried to create a sense of safety for the victims before giving specific instructions such as how to escape the immediate danger, who to contact, how to collect evidence. The Women's Union of Cam Le Ward also received cases of violence.
But according to Ms. Le Thi Thu Huong, Chairwoman of the Ward Women’s Union, such situations have become less frequent. However, “less frequent” does not mean “no longer present”. Every year, there are still a few new cases, and each case is a separate slice of the trauma that women have silently carried for many years.
Ms. Huong said: “Sometimes women don’t need much, just a place to talk and confide. There are things that seem very small, like a harsh, harsh sentence, but over time they become fear. This month of action is like an excuse for us to boldly knock on every door, ask each question, so that everyone understands that gender equality is a right, not a request,” Ms. Huong said.
It can be said that the journey to make a city safer for women and children does not rely solely on kindness or temporary goodwill. It requires a system that operates silently and persistently. And the Month of Action for Gender Equality and Prevention and Response to Gender-Based Violence, launched by Da Nang every year, is the city's way of emphasizing that violence prevention does not only occur when there is an incident, but must become a habit and a culture of behavior in the community.
The month of action will end. The propaganda poster will be taken down. The Dragon Bridge will return to its familiar color change rhythm. But for many people, especially those who have emerged from the darkness of violence, the orange color will always remain in the subconscious as a silent signal reminding them that they deserve to live safely and happily.
Source: https://baodanang.vn/vi-mot-thanh-pho-an-toan-3313965.html
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