Law on Prevention and Control of Domestic Violence 2022 available in Vietnam

Law on Prevention and Control of Domestic Violence 2022 available in Vietnam

The National Assembly passed the Law on Prevention and Control of Domestic Violence 2022 on November 14, 2022.

The Law on Prevention and Control of Domestic Violence 2022 contains several new points as follows:

1. 08 additional act considered to domestic violence in Vietnam

According to Article 3 of the Law on Prevention and Control of Domestic Violence 2022, domestic violence acts in Vietnam are defined as follows:

- 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;

- 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;

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

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

- 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;

- 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;

- 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.

* Behaviors stated in Clause 1, Article 3 of the Law on Prevention and Control of Domestic Violence 2022 carried out between divorced individuals; individuals living together as spouses; biological parents, children, siblings of divorced individuals, individuals living together as spouses; individuals who have had adoptive parent-child relationships with each other are also identified as domestic violence behaviors as per the Government of Vietnam.

(Compared to the Law on Prevention and Control of Domestic Violence 2007, the Law on Prevention and Control of Domestic Violence 2022 added the following behaviors:

- Forcing to witness violence against people or animals to cause continuous psychological pressure;

- Neglecting, not caring for; not nurturing, taking care of family members who are children, pregnant women, women raising children under 36 months, the elderly, persons with disabilities, those unable to self-care; not educating children;

- Discriminating against family members based on physique, gender, sex, capabilities;

- Preventing family members from meeting relatives, engaging in lawful, healthy social relationships or other actions to isolate and cause continuous psychological pressure;

- Disclosing or spreading private life information, personal secrets, and family secrets of family members to offend honor and dignity;

- Forcing to perform pornographic acts; forcing to listen to, watch, or read pornographic content, or content that stimulates violence;

- Forcing pregnancy, abortion, or selection of fetal gender;

- Isolating and detaining family members.

Additionally, the behavior of forcing unwanted sexual relations has been detailed in the Law on Prevention and Control of Domestic Violence 2022 as follows:

Forcing unwanted sexual relations with a spouse.

2. Request for perpetrators to come to the Police Office of the commune where the domestic violence acts occur in Vietnam

Request for perpetrators to come to the Police Office of the commune where the domestic violence acts occur in Vietnam according to Article 24 of the Law on Prevention and Control of Domestic Violence 2022 as follows:

- When assigned to handle the case, the Head of the Commune Police has the right to request the individual with domestic violence behaviors to report to the Commune Police where the domestic violence occurred to clarify information and resolve the case in the following circumstances:

+ The victim of domestic violence is a child, pregnant woman, woman raising a child under 36 months, elderly person, person with disabilities, or someone unable to self-care;+ When there is evidence that the domestic violence behavior has or could continue to endanger the health or life of the victim.

- The request for reporting must be documented and witnessed by community members.

- In case of non-compliance, the Commune Police are authorized to use legal support tools to bring the individual to the Commune Police station.

The Law on Prevention and Control of Domestic Violence 2022 comes into effect in Vietnam from July 01, 2023, replacing the Law on Prevention and Control of Domestic Violence 2007.

Quoc Dat

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