Page 22 - IJPS-11-4

International Journal of
Population Studies Violence against women in Vietnam

resulted in adverse effects on human resources, particularly good wife should follow her husband’s decisions, lead to
given the significant role of women in the workforce—a discrimination against the role of women in their families
pivotal factor for driving economic advancement. (MOLISA et al., 2020). Although both men and women
Different gendered roles contribute to the formation of reported being involved in decision-making on most
societal gender norms. The most common caregiving and family matters, the majority agreed that men have the final
leadership norms in Vietnam are that “women should be say in more important matters, such as land, housing, and
primarily responsible for child and family caretaking” and the purchase of valuable assets (ISDS, 2015).
that “women should not be in leadership positions within Gender norms and stereotypes remain the primary
the workplace” (Nguyen, 2020, p. 13). Gender norms from causes of discrimination against women and gender-
the past continue to strongly influence the roles of women based violence (GBV). Women and girls are also victims
in the workplace and at home. Persisting gender inequality of violence, such as sexual harassment, fueled by notions
in the labor market results in disparities in recruitment, like “women are flowers for men to pick up.” However, laws
compensation, and promotion. Data on employment preventing women and girls from fully exercising their
status reveal a notable disparity favoring men, with a rights have not still clearly determined sexual harassment
lower percentage of women having access to and obtaining in public spaces. The notion of educating one’s wife from
employment. the 1 day of marriage also encourages men to dominate
st
Based on the employment status, Vietnam’s economic the decision-making in the family, even using violence as a
structure shows that only 43% of employed women are means to carry out such “education.”
wage workers, whereas the corresponding figure for To eliminate GBV and promote gender equality, the
employed men is higher (51.4%). Notably, women’s labor Vietnamese government has enacted several laws and
force participation rate is very high in Vietnam (62.3% policies, including the Law on Gender Equality, the Law
for women; 75.4% for men), but 67.2% of female workers on Marriage and Family, the Law on Domestic Violence
are employed in the informal sector (UN Women et al., Prevention and Control, and the Labor Code. In addition,
2021). Moreover, the proportion of unpaid family labor the government has implemented several national
for women is more than twice that of men, at 19.4% programs to promote gender equality, such as the National
compared to 9.2% in 2019 (GSO, 2021). In a family, Strategy on Gender Equality 2021 – 2030 and the Action
women are required to do the housework and perform Plan on Gender Equality 2021 – 2025. These laws, policies,
unpaid care tasks. A survey by the Institute for Social and programs aim to ensure that women have equal rights
Development Studies (ISDS) revealed that 20% of women and opportunities in all aspects of life, including education,
were unemployed because they were busy with household employment, politics, and health.
chores, compared to only 2% of men. Therefore, women Vietnam has also exerted considerable efforts to meet
are more likely to be responsible for the unpaid work of the commitments outlined in international conventions,
running a household, which can be both time- and energy- such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
consuming (ISDS, 2015). The 2018 Labor Force Survey of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the
revealed that 47.5% of economically inactive women chose Convention on the Rights of the Child. Notably, the
this employment status due to “personal or family-related country is currently considering ratifying the Violence
reasons,” compared to only 18.9% of inactive men. Despite and Harassment Convention 2019 (No. 190). Moreover,
the generally high participation of women in the labor the Labor Code (2019) defines sexual harassment in
market in Vietnam, women continue to encounter unequal the workplace as a prohibited act, and the employer is
opportunities for economic engagement compared to men responsible for developing internal rules to prevent and
(General Statistics Office, 2018), thereby indicating an respond to any such acts (Decree No.145/2020). These
imbalance of power in the labor market. conventions further reflect the Vietnamese government’s
The norm of favoring males has caused significant commitment to eliminating GBV and promoting gender
gender inequality, such as gender selection and limited equality. However, GBV remains a challenging issue, and
access to education for females. As a result, women are Vietnam must focus on developing stronger intervention
more likely to have lower levels of education. According to measures to achieve the goals of the 2030 Agenda.
the ISDS (2015) survey, 70.78% of women had completed
a lower secondary school education or less, compared to 1.2. Violence against women (VAW) in Vietnam
60.28% of men. Further, only 29.22% of women had upper- VAW remains a significant issue in Vietnam. The 2019
secondary school or higher education compared to 40.33% National Study on VAW in Vietnam revealed that nearly
of men. Further gender norms, such as the notion that a 63% of women have experienced at least one form of GBV

Volume 11 Issue 4 (2025) 16 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.1758