Hepvic - health policy-making in Vietnam, China and India: A case study on domestic violence

The HEPVIC project aims to enhance the health policy-making processes in developing countries through a comparative study of three Asian case countries – Vietnam, India and China. The study was adopted the qualitative research method: interviews the key respondents with mapping and reviewing documents on the related policy areas. This study aimed to understand the health policy processes from the agenda setting, development until its implementation. Moreover, this research will explore the complex interplay between different influences on the policy process, and the complex interplay of four determinants of health policy processes: civil society, human resources, service delivery and the wider health system. Domestic violence (DV) was chosen as one case study among three ones in Vietnam to reflect the policy processes, focussing on the processes of the Law of Domestic violence prevention and control (DV law) including the complex interplay among 4 themes. This paper illustrates characteristics of different "stages" of the policy process including what galvanized the process of DV law to start. It also describes the mechanisms using by different actors to involve in the policy processes. Among 4 themes, the most observed one is the Civil society (including Women union) through their intensively involvement from the beginning of DV law. The issues relating to health system and human resource in health were raised mainly by the Ministry of health, who made some strong arguments that the capacity of HR and facilities in health currently are not sufficient to implement some contents stated in the law. Other challenges to the law originated from social norms about the gender relationships and people’s attitude toward DV issues in wider context. The paper also explores that the content of DV law is quite general which might lead to the challenges for implementation guidelines.