Dr Nguyen Hoang Thanh from the HMU revealed the shocking data as part of a research on domestic violence during pregnancy at a workshop held in Ha Noi on Tuesday by PAVE project,
sponsored by the Danish International Development Agency.
Thanh said the research was proof of a high prevalence of domestic violence towards pregnant women in Viet Nam and that most of them were not protected or did not know how to protect themselves from their husbands' violence.
While all three main types of partner violence – physical, sexual and emotional – are considered, women reported experiencing most of the emotional violence during pregnancy, followed by sexual and physical, according to Thanh.
The research was undertaken on interviews of more than 1,300 pregnant women in Ha Noi's Dong Anh District between 2014 and 2016, who came to check up their pregnancy at local hospital or clinics.
Researchers collected information and made an analysis on the reality and types of violence that husband often inflicted on their wives during pregnancy.
They found that emotional violence included the neglect and threats, while sexual and physical violence included sexual harassment, and being forced to use aphrodisiacs or gonadotropic tools and being beaten.
The research also showed that women giving birth to only daughters are at a higher risk of facing domestic violence than those who had sons and most of them tried to conceal their suffering.
Through the research, experts appealed to authorities at all levels to implement relevant policies to protect women from domestic violence, particularly during their pregnancy.
