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| Scene at the conference (Photo: VNA) |
Head of the Ministry’s Family Department Tran Tuyet Anh said the law, which took effect in July 2008, has received attention and support from the community, socio-politic organisations and domestic and international non-governmental organisations. The work has been monitored by the National Assembly Committee for Social Affairs, with the media involved in raising public awareness.
Up to 292,268 cases of domestic abuse were reported during the 2009 – 2017 period. Between July 1, 2008 and July 31, 2018, people’s courts at all levels granted divorces in nearly 1.4 million cases, of which more than 1.06 million had domestic violence among their causes.
Vietnam has about 27 million households. As abuse often occurs behind closed doors of the families, it is important to develop a network of community-based groups, who collect information and spread knowledge on the issue. The report said only four out of 63 provinces and cities have operated such groups so far.
Apart from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Vietnam Farmers’ Union, no public agencies and organisations have to date allocated funds for the prevention of domestic violence. Local-level authorities also have limited funding for the work. As a result, many anti-family abuse legal documents and programmes have yet to produce effective outcomes.
A representative from the Ministry of Justice said domestic abuse cases are on the rise in number and severity, with victims mostly women and children.
He said flaws in legal regulations are among causes of the situation and recommended assessing regulations on administrative violations for more suitable fines.
