VNN – Shoko Ishikawa – UN Women Country Representative in Viet Nam

During the recent revision of the Penal Code, National Assembly Deputies debated whether or not the amended provision should explicitly include marital rape. Criminalisation of all forms of violence against women, including marital rape, was one of the recommendations coming from the UN committee of experts on women’s rights. No matter who the perpetrator is or where the incident takes place, rape is rape.

In Viet Nam, there is a common belief that sexual violence does not occur within the family or in locations considered to be ‘secure’ and ‘peaceful’. There is a myth that ‘real rape’ involves strangers, force and/or physical injury. However, a recent review of 462 rape and sexual assault case files tells a very different story.

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