Nhan Dan/VNA - A survey of Vietnamese families shows that domestic violence occurs in about 20% of marriages across the country alongside an increase in the rate of divorce.

The results of the survey, conducted by the Family Department of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the General Statistics Office, the Institute for Family and Gender Studies in collaboration with the Australia Institute of Family Research with support from UNICEF, were announced on June 26.

The survey is based on interviews with 9,300 households in all 64 provinces and cities in Vietnam.

UNICEF Deputy Representative in Vietnam, Maniza Zaman, said implementation of the government’s recently passed Law on Prevention and Control of Domestic Violence will be instrumental in addressing the serious problem in many homes across Vietnam.

“One of the key components of these efforts should be changing societal attitudes to domestic violence, so that it is not simply accepted as a normal or acceptable part of married life, which is too often the case,” Zaman said.

The survey also found that divorce is on the rise in the country due to economic pressures, lifestyle difference and adultery. But for couples who stay together, the study showed progress in gender equality where it is now more common for the wife or both husband and wife to assume a leading role in the family.

Additionally, for the first time, the three-generation family household has also become more popular in urban areas than rural areas, with increases in rural-to-urban migration

Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Huynh Vinh Ai said the survey provides a comprehensive picture of changes in family relations and roles in the household and will be used to build up government policy.

“It highlights changes in family norms and standards under the industrialisation and modernisation process,” Ai said.

“It will be used as a scientific and practical basis for policy making to build wealthy, equitable, progressive and happy families, as baseline for the monitoring and evaluation of the family development and as the premise for further research and studies on families in Vietnam.”

UNICEF Representative in Vietnam Jesper Morch applauded the government’s support for the survey and said it shows “the vision, leadership and foresight” of the Vietnamese government.