Remaining silent about domestic violence can lead to serious and unexpected consequences, one official said.

Beaten wife advised to share the problems with trusted family members or close friends who could provide them with help.

Truong Thi Mai, Chairwoman of the National Assembly’s Committee for Social Affairs sat down with DTiNews to speak about this issue.

Recently, a woman in Hanoi was seriously beaten by her husband for 12 hours. This case was quite shocking to many people. Do you have any comments on this particular incident?

I saw it on the news in July 21. The woman was seriously injured and the husband was arrested. But the sad fact is that this is not the first case of domestic violence.

All cases like this provoke anger and sympathy for the victim. I think that we need to improve law enforcement and heighten the involvement of local governments and communities.

How should this case be dealt with?

In my opinion he should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. It appears to be obvious that he seriously injured his wife.

We’ve included the rights and obligations of local governments and institutions in the Law on Domestic Violence Prevention and Control. However their actions on the issue have fallen far short of expectations. Why?

Despite the existence of the law, there was a lack of cooperation between agencies during its enforcement. Governments in many locations have failed to pay proper attention to the issue. In too many cases they wait until after an incident occurs to take action.

I do think that the media has a responsibility to raise public awareness, and encourage participation in the fight against domestic violence.

Danang is an example of a city that has done a good job concerning this issue. Nguyen Ba Thanh, Secretary of the municipal Party Committe, has been very proactive and actually met husbands who have been known to commit domestic abuse in an attempt to get them to change their behaviour. Other cities should look to Danang as an example.

The community itself also has a role. Neighbours should take notice if they live around a household where domestic abuse occurs. Everybody needs to join hands to deal with the problem.

You’ve mentioned the participation of neighbours and the community. But in this case, as in severals, the wife, the victim, kept silent the whole time, so no one knew about her situation. What do you think about this?

This has partly to do with East Asian culture. Several women opt to keep silent for the sake of their families. However, I do think that these victims should be encouraged to speak out, and call for help. The law you mentioned attempts to address this. If local law enforcement fails to provide protection, they are advised to share the problems with trusted family members or close friends who could provide them with help.

Increasingly shocking cases of domestic violence are being reported all over the country. What are you comments on this?

Since Law on Domestic Violence Prevention and Control took effect, domestic and child violence are discussed more openly. This has helped our efforts to deal with the issue. I\'m not sure you could say whether the number of cases is rising or falling, but it is definitely a pressing issue.

I think that we should not end our efforts at the policy level, but focus on increasing public awareness. Local governments and communities need to pay more attention in order to improve the situation.

Thank you very much!

A woman in Hanoi was seriously beaten by her husband for 12 hours