Open the "door" to protect the vulnerable

BHG - In order to bring policies and guidelines on legal aid (Laid) work to vulnerable groups in society, helping them protect their legitimate rights and interests, improve their understanding of the law, and their awareness of respecting and abiding by the law, the team of legal aid workers is making efforts to open the "door" of protection to ensure social justice.

Free legal aid is not only a humanitarian policy of the Party and State, but also one of the most effective tools to protect legitimate rights, improve understanding and legal awareness for people, especially ethnic minorities, the poor, the disabled, the elderly... In our province, where more than 70% of the population is eligible for legal aid, most of whom are ethnic minorities living in remote areas, this activity is of great significance when the legal aid policy is truly put into practice.

A session of propaganda, dissemination and legaleducation in Niem Tong commune (Meo Vac).

From 2020 to 2025, the Provincial State Legal Aid Center has implemented many effective communication programs; organized 43 communication sessions in poor communes and extremely disadvantaged areas, attracting nearly 7,000 participants. In addition, more than 5,900 people with disabilities and the elderly with financial difficulties have also accessed appropriate legal communication sessions. Communication forms have been diversified, from distributing leaflets, brochures, organizing mobile consultations, to broadcasting on radio, television, making legal videos , etc. Up to now, the Center has distributed more than 82,000 free legal brochures, handled more than 2,300 specialized legal aid cases and more than 3,000 simple consultation cases. In particular, through close coordination with prosecution agencies, Border Guard stations and local authorities, many notice boards, document trays and legal aid request forms have been placed at public offices, helping people easily access information when needed.

Director of the Provincial State Legal Aid Center Nguyen Minh Hoang shared: “The work of communicating legal aid in the province faces many difficulties due to the geographical characteristics of the mountainous area, sparse population distribution, and difficult transportation, making it difficult to reach the community. On the other hand, the uneven level of education of the people... causes great obstacles to the communication of legal information”.

Following legal aid worker Luc Thuy Linh of the Provincial State Legal Aid Center in a support session for people in Meo Vac district, we can feel the anxiety and hardship on the journey to protect the rights of the disadvantaged. To verify and establish records for each subject, the workers do not hesitate to cross mountains and forests; regardless of the precarious roads where you can see rocks when you look up and deep abysses when you look down; and through the cold, rainy winter days that cut into the skin to carry out the mission of "public lawyers" for the disadvantaged. Legal aid worker Luc Thuy Linh shared: "The team of legal aid workers faces many difficulties when most of them cannot speak ethnic minority languages and lack practical experience at the grassroots level. Communication sessions often only attract the elderly, women or children because workers of working age go to work far away. This leads to limited effectiveness in receiving and disseminating legal information".

With the determination to innovate to improve the quality of legal communication, the provincial Justice sector is making efforts to change the awareness of local leaders and officials; identifying legal communication as not the sole task of the sector, but the shared responsibility of the entire political system. At the same time, strengthen inter-sectoral coordination, clearly assign tasks and responsibilities among units. Innovate and create communication methods such as dramatization, creating legal videos in ethnic languages, easy-to-understand illustrations, and increasing mobile radio broadcasts. Improve the effectiveness of legal knowledge training for those who have direct contact with people such as commune officials, village chiefs, teachers, police officers, etc. so that they can become legal propagandists at the grassroots level. Establish a legal communication hotline and maintain channels for receiving information quickly. Encourage officials to learn ethnic languages, increase recruitment of local people to participate in legal communication work, contributing to improving the effectiveness of communication and dissemination at the grassroots level.

In the context of increasing demand for legal aid, people in remote areas and ethnic minority areas not only need to be protected when facing legal problems but also need to be equipped with knowledge to protect themselves, prevent violations and disputes. Communication work is the "bridge" between policy and life to open the "door" to ensure fairness and strengthen people's trust in the legal system and local authorities.

Article and photos: Kim Tien

Source: https://baohagiang.vn/xa-hoi/202506/mo-canh-cua-bao-ve-nguoi-yeu-the-85034e4/