[jackbl]

Nearly 60 percent of Vietnamese women maltreated by their husbands
================================================== =========

VietNamNet Bridge – They may be poorly treated by their husbands physically, psychologically or sexually. Even pregnant women are beaten.

This is the result of a research conducted in early 2010, with the participation of nearly 5000 women from 18 to 60 years old.

The research work reveals that up to 54 percent of the women surveyed suffered from psychological maltreatment. One in three women was abused by their husbands physically or sexually.

Duyen from Hanoi was beaten by her husband very often. He beat her with anything he had, for example a pipe, a small chair, a brick or his sandal.

Nguyen Phong, a senior official from the General Statistic Office, said the survey shows that most Vietnamese women are threatened by family violence.

In some areas, four out of ten women said they didn’t feel safe in their families. Up to 5 percent of pregnant women were also beaten at least once.

Worse, many children had to witness family violence.

“Even with the presence of my daughter or her friends, though they are only ten years old, whenever he came home, he weighed down on me…” a woman who participated in the survey said.

Dr. Jean Marc Olive, chief representative of the World Health Organisation in Vietnam, said children who have to witness family violence will suffer from psychological problems. Moreover, they can become violent people when they grow up.

Most women kept silent when they were beaten by their husbands. Up to 87 percent of them said they had never thought of reporting their cases to the local governments to get help though Vietnam has the Law on Family Violence Prevention.

Some women even thought that violence in families is normal and women should bear it to maintain peace in their families.

Some women sought the community’s help but it was ineffective because some local governments still thought that family violence is a family matter.

“Now we have evidences – true stories – from women who were maltreated in their families. It’s time to break the silence. We expect women to stand up and tell their stories to put an end to domestic violence,” Mr. Olive said.


PV