Date: Thursday, June 26, 2008
Event: Launch of the Results of the Survey on the Family in Viet Nam, Hanoi, Viet Nam
Speaker: Ms. Maniza Zaman, Deputy Representative of UNICEF

Honorable Vice-Minister of Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism, Mr. Huynh Vinh Ai
Senior officials from the Government, including members of the Steering Committee for the Family Survey,Colleagues in the UN Country Team and the development community in Hanoi,
Friends from the media,Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am honoured to be here today to speak to you at the launch of the results of the first-ever nationwide Survey on the Family in Viet Nam. As you have just heard from the Vice-Minister of Culture, Sport and Tourism, this study represents a unique and timely contribution to the knowledge available on the family.  I congratulate the entire team who worked on the study: the inter-ministerial Steering Committee, the MOCST, the General Statistics Office, the Institute on Family and Gender Studies, as well as my own colleagues at UNICEF. Through this study, Viet Nam has again shown leadership in a critical area for children and society as a whole.

UNICEF is proud to have been able to support the Family Department in the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism in the conceptualisation, design, implementation, and finalization of this study. For UNICEF, this survey was an unprecedented opportunity to gain a better understanding of the most important actor in the lives of children – their family.  As you are all aware, the role of the family in the lives of children in Viet Nam cannot be overstated; the family is where children are socialized; where they are nurtured and loved; where they are taught values and traditions; where they are protected; and ultimately, the family is where children learn about themselves and their place in their community, country and the world. For all of these reasons, UNICEF believed in the value of this kind of a study from the very beginning, and we feel privileged to have been a partner in this effort.

The data gathered through this research is valuable for many reasons. It provides a basis for sound policymaking, and will be useful in efforts to ensure implementation of international conventions related to children and the family.  The 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 5 recognises the responsibilities, rights and duties of parents and the family to provide appropriate direction and guidance to children in the exercise of their rights. In the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women of 1979, women and men are accorded equal rights to act and decide in the family, and equal responsibility to do so on behalf of their children. In many of these instruments, it is also recognized that while various forms of the family exist in different social, cultural, legal and political systems, the family is the basic unit of society and as such is entitled to receive comprehensive protection and support.

But let me spend a moment now recognising the real driving forces behind this study: the Family Department, formerly under the Committee on Population, Family and Children, and now in MOCST, and the inter-ministerial Steering CommitteeViet Nam today that is both evidence-based and compelling.  For this, I applaud the Family Department, and the survey Steering Committee. which guided the entire survey process. Both have shown great vision, courage and leadership in undertaking this study, and both are responsible for its success. They have taken a forward-looking perspective and demonstrated willingness to tackle tough and even sensitive issues through this research. The result is a survey that brings together qualitative and quantitative data to weave a comprehensive picture of the family in

We are all aware that the family, like Viet Nam itself, is undergoing rapid transformations. The family is grappling with new issues and challenges as a result of these changes, but it is also still dealing with issues that have existed for generations. Some of these issues are a result of the socio-economic changes we see around us every day, including the rise of the market economy.

I would like to draw your attention to two issues in the survey that we as UNICEF feel are particularly important. The first issue is a new, emerging one: the time that parents spend with their children. We have seen in other countries experiencing rapid industrialization and modernization that this transition often results in parents spending less and less time with their children due to the need for parents to work. In Viet Nam, too, we see this phenomenon taking place, with many mothers and fathers feeling that they do not spend enough time with their children. International research has shown that children’s social, emotional, physical, and mental development is linked to the time spent with parents and other primary caregivers. This means that children are the ones losing out the most when parents do not spend enough time with them.

As elsewhere, parents in Viet Nam feel pressured by the need to work long hours to compete in the market economy. Related to this, the lack of quality child care, including kindergartens, is a growing concern. This clearly indicates that there is a need for policy makers to better support parents in Viet Nam today as they try to juggle the demands of family, work and economic growth. Ideally, this support would include the provision of quality child care accessible to all working parents, especially the poor, and the development of a comprehensive social security system so that parents and families are guaranteed a certain basic minimum standard of living. One of the most promising developments in this area is a proposal to increase the period of maternity leave from 4 months to 6 months, which the Government is now considering; UNICEF welcomes this initiative by the Government, and we believe it would be a very effective way to help support the physical and emotional development of young children and to encourage the essential initial bonding between mother and child.

The second area where I would like to draw your attention is, unfortunately, an issue which has been present in societies around the world for generations: domestic violence. The survey gives us solid data on this critical issue. In Viet Nam, one in five married couples has experienced the most severe forms of domestic violence. When less severe forms of violence such as sulking and keeping silent are included, this figure rises to one in three married couples. The recent Law on the Prevention and Control of Domestic Violence, and the Government’s many efforts to support its implementation and enforcement, are essential steps in combating domestic violence. 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. Putting in place services and assistance for survivors of domestic violence – without stigmatizing them further – is also essential.

I would like to conclude my remarks by situating this survey within the broader context of UNICEF’s and the UN’s role in Viet Nam. Increasingly, in the One UN context, the UN is positioning itself to become a more effective partner to the Government of Viet Nam, especially in the area of knowledge generation and management, cutting-edge research, evidence-based policy development and advocacy, and monitoring of social and economic development.  The Family Survey represents an important contribution by the UN in all of these areas. UNICEF looks forward to working with the Government to support the implementation of policy recommendations emanating from the survey data and analysis. In so doing, UNICEF hopes to contribute to strengthening the family in Viet Nam, and to ensuring it remains a place of protection, nurturing and care for children.

Thank you very much.