Mr. Nguyen Hoang Khoi, 37, in Go Vap district, Ho Chi Minh City, lost his temper after knowing that the business plan of his team was returned for the third time by his boss. He threw his electronic pen on the floor. The pen bounced, hitting the toy blocks arranged by his son. The toy block collapsed. The 4-year-old boy cried out. The boy kept crying despite Khoi’s effort to calm him down. Khoi got angry. He shouted loudly and hit the child.

Mr. Hoang Lam, 33, in Binh Chanh district, Ho Chi Minh City has beaten his children because he was angry at his wife's adultery. After his wife abandoned the family to go with another man, Lam was often irritable and vented his anger on his children.

Every time the 3-year-old girl cried for her mother, Lam’s resentment broke out. He cursed, asked the child to stop crying and stop asking for her mother. But the more he scolded, the louder the baby cried.

Thinking that the child was disobedient and stubborn, he beat her. He argued that because he loved his daughter, he didn't want her to remember the "betrayed mother", so he scolded and hit her.

However, that was only an excuse for the man to vent his resentment about his unfaithful wife on his children. In fact, the abuse of children like Khoi and Lam is a fact in society, and has seemed to rise in recent years.

Mr. Tran Cong Binh, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Association of Psychological Science and Education, and former a child rights specialist of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Vietnam, said that in 2014, nearly 68.4% children aged 1-14 were reported to have experienced domestic violence by their parent or caregiver.

However, this number increased significantly in 2021. Data from the National Telephone Switchboard for Child Protection 111 showed that in 2021, of the total case of abuse against children, the percentage of children who experienced violence by family members was the highest, accounting up to 78.7%, up 3% compared to 2020.

Psychologists and sociologists said the cause of the increase in the number of children being abused by parents and relatives last year was due to the influence of the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic. 

In addition, many parents in Vietnam still misunderstand the concept “Spare the rod, spoil the child”, leading to violence against children. Some consider their children as a place to vent their anger and release pressures and frustrations in their lives.

Child psychologist Le Khanh, from the Family and Child Psychology Counseling Office in Ho Chi Minh City, said that many adults vent their anger and discharge "mental waste" on their children because this is the safest and closest environment to them. This is the main reason that leads to nearly 80% of children being abused in the location that is expected to be the safest.

Child protection specialist Tran Cong Binh, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Association of Psychological Science – Education, said that to reduce and eliminate this alarming number, it is necessary to raise public awareness of children's rights and protection of children from abuse in the family and school.

Through the publication "A familiar face- Violence in the lives of children and adolescents", UNICEF presents specific actions and strategies that the organization has applied to prevent and respond to violence against children.

The organization recommends that the Vietnamese government strengthen the legal framework and policies to protect children from all forms of violence, exploitation and abuse during childhood. The authorities need to focus on addressing systemic social attitudes that help perpetuate violence against children in any context, including within the family, school, community and online.

Ha Nguyen