More than 300 volunteers in Da Nang joined a meeting on November 30 to support the campaign of preventing domestic violence against women and girls.

Illustrative image (Photo: ANSA)

President of the municipal Women’s Union Do Thi Kim Linh called on not only every member of society but also authorities at all levels to engage in efforts to eliminate domestic violence and build happy families.

Shoko Ishikawa, a representative from the UN Women in Viet Nam , said it is essential to stop violent behaviour at families, schools, working and public places before it happens.

Children, in particular, are prone to become either victims or inflictors of violence if they regularly witness violent acts, she noted, saying changing gender prejudice is needed to end the situation.

She suggested the city’s Women’s Union continue to popularise the Law on Gender Equality and Law on Domestic Violence Prevention, while increasing sharing self-protection skills for women and girls.

Statistics announced by the World Health Organisation (WHO) showed that up to 58 percent of Vietnamese married women reported that they experienced at least one type of domestic violence in their lifetime, namely physical, sexual and emotional violence.

Over the past few years, Viet Nam has built a legal framework on gender equality and domestic violence prevention. The country signed the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), a universal international human rights treaty, in 1980 and endorsed it in 1982.