Additional acts to be considered domestic violence in Vietnam

Domestic violence is a global problem; it leaves many serious consequences, especially for women and children, causing not only physical and psychological consequences but also serious violations of human rights.

1. From July 1, 2023, what acts are considered domestic violence?

From July 1, 2023, the Law on Prevention and Combat against Domestic Violence 2022 officially took effect. Accordingly, there are 16 acts of domestic violence, including:

- Torturing, ill-treating, beating, and threatening or acts of intentionally violating the health and lives of others;

- Insulting, nagging, or other acts of intentionally insulting the honor and dignity of others;

- Forcing people or animals to witness violence to put constant psychological pressure; (new)

- Ignoring, deserting, not nurturing, or taking care of family members who are children, pregnant women, women who are raising children under 36 months old, the elderly, disabled people, or people who are unable to take care of themselves; not educating family members who are children;(new)

- Discriminating against family members’ body, gender, sexuality, and capability; (new)

- Preventing family members from meeting their family members, having legal, healthy social relationships, or committing acts of isolating and putting constant psychological pressure; (new)

- Preventing the performance of rights and obligations in the family relations between grandparents and grandchildren; between father, mother, and child; between husband and wife; between brothers and sisters;

- Disclosing or spreading information on personal life, secrets, and family secrets of other family members to insult their honor and dignity; (new)

- Forcing sexual intercourse against the will of the wife or husband;

- Forcing performance of erotic acts; forcing other family members to listen to, view, and read pornographic audio, images, and contents, inciting violence; (new)

- Imposing forced child marriage, marriage, and divorce or preventing marriage or divorce illegally;

- Forcing pregnancy, abortion, and fetal sex selection;

- Appropriating or vandalizing the general property of the family or personal property of other family members;

- Forcing family members to overwork, over-study, or make financial contributions more than they can afford; controlling property and income of family members to create a state of physical, mental dependence, or other aspects;

- Isolating or holding family members in custody;

- Forcing family members to leave their legal residence illegally.

Thus, compared with the current regulations, there are 06 more acts that are considered as domestic violence.

2. National hotline for Prevention and Combat against Domestic Violence in Vietnam

Recently, according to the Draft Decree detailing a number of articles of the Law on Prevention and Combat against Domestic Violence proposed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, together with the obligations of the hotline for domestic violence prevention as follows: 

- Receive notifications and denunciations via telephone from agencies, organizations, educational institutions, businesses, families, and individuals about violations of the law on domestic violence prevention and control.

- Contact with relevant or competent individuals, agencies, and organizations; exploiting information in the mass media and the network environment to check information, make initial denunciations, and make further denunciations about violations of the law on domestic violence prevention and control.

- Transfer, provide information, notify, denounce, or introduce people experiencing domestic violence to competent agencies, organizations, and individuals for protection and support.

- Coordinate with agencies, organizations, individuals, and establishments providing protection and support services for people experiencing domestic violence to respond to the receipt, exchange, and verification of information, notifications, and denunciations about law violations in domestic violence prevention and control.

- Counsel and support people in charge of domestic violence prevention and control in localities to develop and implement support and intervention plans for each case where the person experiencing domestic violence is a disadvantaged person in the family; monitor and evaluate the development and implementation of this plan.

- Counsel on psychology, law, and policies for domestic violence prevention and control.

- Store, analyze, and synthesize information to provide, inform, notify, and denounce at the request of competent agencies, organizations, and individuals violations of the law on domestic violence prevention and control detected and received by the Call Center; make periodic and irregular reports to the state management agency in charge of family and other agencies competent and responsible for domestic violence prevention and control.

See more at Draft

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