Young Vietnamese girls likely to fall victim to dating abuse: UN-backed survey

The topic of violence between young couples in the Southeast Asian country was discussed at a conference in Hanoi on November 9, aimed at eliminating gender inequality and violence against women.

During the event, a group of researchers reported the result of their survey on dating abuse in Vietnam, which was conducted between 2014 and 2015 and sponsored by the UN.

Of nearly 570 female interviewees between the ages of 18 and 30, 59% said they had suffered mental abuse, 23% claimed they were harassed on the Internet, while 24 had fallen victim to harassment and violence from their former partners after a break-up.

About 21% of the participants said they were either mentally or physically hurt, while over six percent mentioned an intention to commit suicide.

The survey was undertaken to share some insight into the reality of violence against women in Vietnam, in a bid to seek gender equality and add the topic of dating abuse to the adjusted Penal Code.

Violence between couples has been a hot topic on social media, the researchers stated, adding that there had been no official study conducted on the issue in Vietnam before.

Other researches on dating abuse have also been carried out by the same group of people with the assistance of the UN Women in Vietnam.

During a dialog following the meeting, students from universities in Hanoi performed short plays depicting several scenarios of dating between couples.

The plays included situations that could lead to potential violence and how parents could support and help their children to deal with the problem.