Domestic Violence Law and Attitudes to Intimate Partner Violence: Evidence from Vietnam

Phil Doan-Pham, Astghik Mavisakalyan and Jacqui True

No 1743, GLO Discussion Paper Series from Global Labor Organization (GLO)

Abstract: Can legal reforms shift social norms around intimate partner violence (IPV)? We examine Vietnam's 2007 Law on Domestic Violence Prevention and Control using a difference-in-differences strategy that leverages the greater relevance of legal protections for married and cohabiting women relative to single women, generating differential exposure to the reform. Using nationally representative data from the Vietnam Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, we find significant reductions in women's acceptance of IPV following the law's introduction. The effects are particularly pronounced among disadvantaged groups, including women with lower education, ethnic minority women, and rural residents. These findings indicate that legal reforms can meaningfully reshape social norms surrounding gender-based violence, with particularly strong impacts among marginalized populations that may face higher barriers to change.

Date: 2026
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea, nep-law, nep-mid and nep-sea
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:glodps:1743

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