A broad range of issues including Vietnamese women who marry foreign nationals and women and children trafficking topped the agenda at a seminar in the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long on July 19-20.

The event was organised by the National Assembly’s Committee for Social Affairs, with nearly 100 deputies from the NA and People’s Councils from Ho Chi Minh City and Lam Dong, Binh Duong, Can Tho, Dong Thap and Bac Lieu provinces taking part.

More and more Vietnamese women have been getting married to men from overseas, especially through illegal matchmaking agencies.

According to the Ministry of Justice, by 2010, 249,280 Vietnamese citizens got married to foreigners and overseas Vietnamese across the world, 80 percent of them women.

Women and children trafficking is also a major concern for the whole society as it is extremely detrimental to women and children.

On top of that, many Vietnamese women have become victims of trafficking by being duped into sham marriages.

At the seminar, several delegates reported back on the situation in their own localities and discussed ways of protecting women and children who are in danger of becoming victims of illegal marriages and cross-border trafficking.

The role of the Justice Ministry, in conjunction with foreign agencies, in dealing with such problems was also put on the table for discussion.

To add emphasis to the occasion, several NA’s female deputies provided additional information and put forward their suggestions for amending and supplementing the law issued in 2000 that governs marriage and the family.-VNA