Though the scourge of sexual harassment is well documented in Vietnam (to the point where Hanoi has considered launching gender-specific busses), its ugly cousin, domestic violence, is an even more serious problem, according to a joint United Nations and Vietnamese govenment report.
At a meeting in Hanoi on November 21 organized by White Ribbon, an Australian campaign to end men’s violence against women, officials learned that 58% of married women “are victims of either or both kind of violence, which causes them heavy physical and mental damage,” reports Voice of Vietnam.
According to Pratibha Mehta, UN Resident Coordinator and UN Development Program (UNDP) Resident Representative in Vietnam, most victims kept quite in the wake of abuse. "87 percent of victims did not seek help due to the lack of available services. Many were also too afraid to speak up due to the fear of stigma, discrimination and further harassment," she said at the meeting.
To help reduce domestic violence, White Ribbon is working with Vietnamese authorities to raise awareness about domestic abuse. The program focuses on garnering men’s support in stopping and speaking out about violence.
At the conference, Nguyen Thuy Hien, deputy director of the Hanoi-based Women and Development Center, said that having men speak out against the issue is a linchpin for turning the tide.
“The ending of violence against women and girls cannot succeed without the participation of men and boys.”
Nguyen Bao Thanh Nghi, a sociology professor at Ho Chi Minh City Open University, said that while there have been domestic campaigns to address the issue in the past, “they often die prematurely and fail to create systematic and widespread changes,” since they are unable to get male support.
Hopefully, the Vietnamese government will begin to take action on this important issue as it has recently done with sexual harassment.
[Photo via CMY Kane]
