Current Status of Child Protection Issues in the Field of Marriage and Family:

2.3. Current status of child protection issues in the field of Marriage and Family:

The quality of care has a significant impact on children’s development. In Viet Nam, a large number of children do not receive adequate care and support from their parents. This includes children who have lost one or both parents (orphans), street children and children whose parents work away from home.[4] According to MICS 2014, about 5.2% of children aged 0-17 do not live with their biological parents; 3.5% of biological parents are deceased and 1.3% of children have a biological parent living abroad. The average number of activities that adults participate in with children is 4.5 activities. Of these, only 14.9% of biological fathers participate in 4 or more activities, while 14.2% of children aged 36-59 months do not have a biological father living with them. Mothers were involved in 45 percent of their children’s activities, and only 7.7 percent of children did not live with their mothers. Six percent of children aged 0–59 months were left in the care of other children, and 1.5 percent were left home alone in the week prior to the survey.

Birth registration is considered one of the important conditions for child protection to protect children in case of rights violations. 96.1 percent of children under 5 years old are registered at birth (according to MICS 2014 data). Among them, the rate of children in the Mekong Delta and the Central Highlands are the two regions with the lowest birth registration rates, at 93.2 and 92.1 percent, respectively. In particular, there is an alarming situation that among children under 5 years old who have not been registered at birth, up to 36.1 percent of mothers said they did not know the birth registration procedure.

One of the issues that greatly affects children's development is the issue of early marriage. Although Vietnamese law clearly stipulates the age of marriage (women from 18 years old, men from 20 years old), in many places, early marriage is still a burning issue. MICS 2014 shows that 0.9 percent of women aged 15 - 49 were married before the age of 15 and about 11.2 percent of women aged 20 - 49 were married before the age of 15.

By their 18th birthday, one in ten women aged 15–19 were married or in union. Children from poor households were more likely to marry earlier than those from rich households (26 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively). About 30 percent of women without a degree were married or in union, compared with only 3 percent of women with a secondary or higher education.

Table 2.3: Early marriage among children

Married before 15 years old

Percentage of women aged 15-49 who are married or

living together as husband and wife for the first time before the age of 15

0.9

Married before 18

Percentage of women aged 20–49 who were married or cohabiting for the first time before 2010

18 years old

11.2

Young women (15-19 years old) currently married or in a union

like husband and wife

Percentage of women aged 15-19 who are married or in a union

10.3

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Source: UNICEF State of Children Analysis 2016

In addition, domestic violence is also an issue that needs to be addressed in Vietnam. Many parents consider beating and scolding their children when they make mistakes as necessary to help them realize their mistakes and correct them; or consider insulting and blaming them as motivation for them to strive. In fact, we can all see that this approach is somewhat consistent with the Vietnamese mentality and has achieved certain results. However, in today's society, when progressive standards of human rights have been and are popular in the world, these ideas and approaches need to be eliminated soon. In particular, cases of violence against children that go beyond the scope of education - a situation that is increasing - need to be severely punished. According to statistics from the Department of Family - Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism,

From 2011 to 2015, on average, each year, our country had more than 31,500 cases of domestic violence, meaning that every day 64 women and 10 children were victims of violence.

2.4. Current legal provisions on child protection in the field of marriage and family:

2.4.1. Regulations on marriageable age:

The 2014 Law on Marriage and Family has clear and specific regulations on the issue of marriageable age. Article 8, Clause 1 of the Law on Marriage and Family stipulates the age of marriage: "Men from 20 years of age or older, women from 18 years of age or older". "The word "enough" here can be understood as from the time of reaching the legal age (calculated in full years). This is one of the important new points of the 2014 Law on Marriage and Family. For a long time, from the 1959 Law on Marriage and Family, the 1986 Law on Marriage and Family, the age of marriage has always been maintained at the level of men from 20 years of age or older, women from 18 years of age or older to be allowed to get married. For example: a person (woman) born on May 10, 2002 will not be 18 years old until May 10, 2020 and that person can register for marriage as early as May 10, 2020. (If according to the old law, the earliest must be May 10, 2020). 11/05/2020). According to Article 5 of the 2014 Law on Marriage and Family, the acts of "Early marriage, forced marriage, fraudulent marriage, and obstruction of marriage" are all prohibited acts. In which, "early marriage" is getting married when one or both parties are not of legal age for marriage. The regulation of the age of marriage reflects the suitability with the level of human psychological development. Moreover, the regulation of such age is also associated with the ability to develop cognitive thinking, associated with the level of independence and autonomy of the subject to perform family functions. In fact, there are many problems that can occur if getting married too early, such as: health problems when giving birth, not being mature enough in awareness. Usually, at this age, men and women achieve complete physical and mental development.

2.4.2. Rights and obligations of parents towards their children:

In addition to regulating the age of marriage, the 2014 Law on Marriage and Family also sets out the rights and obligations of parents towards their children, including a group of personal rights and a group of rights related to property.

a. Human rights and obligations:

Rights and obligations to register birth and name children:

Birth registration is of great significance to a person, because through it that person will be legally recognized by the State. From there, other rights will be guaranteed. Although the 2014 Law on Marriage and Family does not regulate this issue, it is also the responsibility of parents. Article 15 of the 2014 Law on Civil Status stipulates on birth registration for children: “Within 60 days from the date of birth of a child, the father or mother is responsible for registering the birth of the child; in case the father or mother cannot register the birth of the child, the grandfather or grandmother or other relatives or individuals or organizations raising the child are responsible for registering the birth of the child”.

In case the parents are legally married, the full names of both will be filled in the father and mother section of the child's birth certificate. In case the father and mother are not yet identified: "In case the father is not yet identified, when registering the birth, the child's surname, ethnicity, hometown, and nationality will be determined according to the mother's surname, ethnicity, hometown, and nationality; the father's section in the Family Register and the child's Birth Certificate will be left blank". "In case the child's mother is not yet identified and when registering the birth, the father requests to carry out the child recognition procedure, it will be resolved according to the provisions of Clause 3, Article 15; the mother's section in the Family Register and the child's Birth Certificate will be left blank". (according to Article 15 of Decree 123/2015/ND-CP guiding the implementation of the 2014 Law on Civil Status). The father's full name will be added when the father voluntarily recognizes the child or the Court decides that this person is the child's father.

child:

Rights and obligations to look after, nurture, care for and protect

These rights and obligations are fully regulated in Article 69 of the Law on Marriage and Family.

Family 2014: Parents' Duties and Rights

“1. Love your children, respect their opinions; take care of their studies and education so that they develop healthily in terms of physical, intellectual, and moral aspects, becoming filial children of the family and useful citizens of society.

2. Look after, raise, care for, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of minor children, adult children who have lost civil act capacity or are unable to work and have no property to support themselves.

3. Guardianship or representation according to the provisions of the Civil Code for minor children and adults who have lost civil act capacity.

4. Do not discriminate against children based on gender or the marital status of the parents; do not abuse the labor of minor children, adult children who have lost civil capacity or are unable to work; do not incite or force children to do illegal work or work against social ethics.”

It can be seen that loving, caring for, nurturing and protecting children is not only a right but also an obligation of parents towards their children. “Fathers and mothers have equal obligations and rights, together caring for and nurturing minor children, adult children who have lost civil act capacity or are unable to work and have no property to support themselves”. This is one of the most important and compulsory rights of parents towards their children. No one can prevent or deprive parents of their right to love, care for and nurture their children, except in some special cases when parents are restricted in their rights towards their children by a decision or judgment of the Court to ensure the interests of the child. If they seriously violate their obligations to love, care for and protect their children, parents may have their rights towards their children limited.

In case the Court decides to restrict the rights of parents over their minor children, during the enforcement of the Court's decision, the children will be assisted and their interests protected. If it is determined that both parents are not qualified to directly raise the children, the Court will decide to entrust the children to a guardian in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Code. This issue is regulated in Article 85 of the 2014 Law on Marriage and Family:

“Parents have their rights over their minor children restricted in the following cases:

a) Being convicted of one of the crimes of intentionally violating the life, health, dignity, or honor of a child or having seriously violated the obligation to look after, care for, raise, and educate a child;

b) Dissipating the child's assets;

c) Having a depraved lifestyle;

d) Inciting or forcing children to do things that are against the law or social ethics.”

In addition, the law also stipulates that parents are not allowed to discriminate between their children (Clause 4, Article 69 of the 2014 Law on Marriage and Family). This is to ensure equal rights between boys and girls, between stepchildren of the wife (or husband) and the couple's children, between biological children and adopted children, etc., ensuring that children are raised and cared for equally, avoiding emotional and mental trauma that can create gaps in personality or future development.

Compared to the 2000 Law on Marriage and Family, the 2014 Law on Marriage and Family adds: “Looking after, raising, caring for, protecting the legitimate rights and interests of minor children, adult children who have lost civil act capacity or are unable to work and have no property to support themselves” and “Guardianship or representation according to the provisions of the Civil Code for minor children, adult children who have lost civil act capacity”. Lawmakers have provided more clearly about

The subjects that parents need to care for, raise and protect are "minors, adults who have lost civil act capacity or are unable to work and have no property to support themselves".

Rights and obligations to educate children:

Education is an issue that parents need to pay attention to when raising their children. Children have the right to education and learning to develop comprehensively and maximize their potential. Parents have the obligation to educate their children to develop healthily in terms of physical, intellectual and moral aspects, to become filial children of the family and useful citizens of society. This is a mandatory obligation stipulated in the Law on Marriage and Family 2014.

Article 72. Obligations and rights to educate children

1. Parents have the obligation and right to educate their children, care for them and create conditions for them to study.

Parents create conditions for their children to live in a warm and harmonious family environment; set good examples for their children in all aspects; closely coordinate with schools, agencies and organizations in educating their children.

2. Parents guide their children in choosing a career; respect their children's right to choose a career and to participate in political, economic, cultural and social activities.

3. Parents can ask relevant agencies and organizations for help in educating their children when they encounter difficulties that cannot be resolved by themselves.

Parents have the right and obligation to choose a place of study for their children that is suitable to their family conditions and their children's abilities. Parents also need to create a healthy living environment, a healthy family environment so that their children can develop their learning ability. When facing difficulties that cannot be resolved, parents can seek help from competent authorities and relevant organizations in educating their children. The 2014 Law on Marriage and Family has added a provision that parents need to respect "the right of children to participate in political, economic, cultural and social activities".

Parents need to analyze and evaluate the positive and negative impacts of political, economic, cultural and social activities on their children and from there take actions to help their children understand which activities are good for them. Parents can guide their children to participate in activities that are suitable for them and through that, they can educate their children about useful things.

Rights and obligations to represent children:

Parents are the legal representatives of their minor children. Article 73 of the 2014 Law on Marriage and Family stipulates: “Parents are the legal representatives of their minor children and adult children who have lost their civil act capacity, except in cases where the children have another person as their guardian or another person as their legal representative”. This provision can be understood as if the child is a minor or has lost his or her civil act capacity, the parents will be the legal representatives of the child, except in cases where the parents have limited rights over the child. Minor children or children who have lost their civil act capacity are often limited in many civil transactions, and in addition, they are not aware enough to make the right decisions. Therefore, it is necessary to stipulate a legal representative for the child to ensure the rights of minor children or children who have lost their civil act capacity. Compared to the 2000 Law on Marriage and Family, Article 73 of the 2014 Law on Marriage and Family has more clearly defined the rights and obligations of parents as representatives, including additional provisions: "A father or mother has the right to conduct transactions on their own to meet the essential needs of a minor child, an adult child who has lost civil act capacity or is unable to work and has no assets to support himself" and "For transactions related to real estate, movable property with registered ownership rights, usage rights, assets put into business by a minor child, an adult child who has lost civil act capacity, there must be an agreement of the parents". This agreement will help parents know what such large assets of their children will be used for, on the other hand, for the benefit of the children, this agreement will

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