Socioeconomic Inequalities in Intimate Partner Violence: Evidence from Vietnam.

Although socioeconomic inequality has been identified as a significant factor for violence against women, the connection between these two variables has not been widely recognized and addressed in many countries. This study aims to quantify the degree of socioeconomic inequalities in intimate partner violence (IPV) in Vietnam and investigate the contribution of each determinant factor that contributes to the observed inequality. We utilized the Vietnamese National Survey on Domestic Violence against Women (N = 4,019) for the analysis. Household wealth was used as a proxy for socioeconomic status. We used a concentration index to quantify the degree of socioeconomic inequality in emotional, physical, or sexual violence and a combination of these three types of violence. We further decomposed the concentration index to identify the contribution of each determinant to the observed inequality in IPV. We found that the prevalence of IPV was significantly concentrated among the worse-off across all types of IPV and that disparities in husband's occupation (48%), women's education (39%), husband's education (38%), and class (34%) were the primary factors contributing to increased inequalities in IPV. Our results indicated that higher education and engagement in skilled jobs were highly concentrated among the better-off, creating unequal distribution of these variables across wealth. Policy could mitigate the inequality in IPV by expanding women's access to education and economic opportunities. However, interventions should target both men and women and within couples because husband's characteristics also play an important role in explaining socioeconomic inequalities in IPV.

What do outlet's and provider's characteristics mean for family planning consumers? A comparative study of Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda.

BACKGROUND: This research investigated the determinants of the number of family planning consumers in Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda, with a focus on outlet's and provider's characteristics which are important factors influencing the choice of using contraceptive methods but largely unexplored in previous literature. METHODS: We utilized a unique panel survey on outlet's in Kenya (n = 1,321), Nigeria (n = 1,255) and Uganda (n = 842), which is part of the Consumer Market for Family Planning conducted in between 2019 and 2020, for the analysis of the pooled data (n = 3,418) and individual country. Random effects Poisson regressions were performed. RESULTS: The pooled data results showed that the expected number of consumers were significantly lower in Nigeria and Uganda than in Kenya, and that working experience (provider's characteristics), types of stores, duration of providing family planning services, participations in community outreach and host community events, and sign of family planning services (outlet's characteristics) were significant determinants of the number of customers. The results for each country revealed interesting similarities and differences in the determinants across the three countries. CONCLUSIONS: This study sheds light on the relationship between the number of family planning customers and outlet's and provider's characteristics, thus providing informative evidence-based to on-going debates on the coverage of family planning services, which is still insufficient in developing countries. As a result, the government's family planning expenditures should instead prioritize small, private enterprises such as pharmacies or drug stores. Furthermore, it is critical to focus on several critical tasks to improve the qualities of outlets and providers to attract customers, such as ensuring that they are eye-catching, advertising FP services, have professional credentials, fulfil providers' obligations to counsel contraceptive users, provide long-term services and community care, and have female providers.

Sex-Composition of Living Children and Women's Fertility Desire in Vietnam.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between sex-composition of children and women's fertility desire in Vietnam. Materials and methods: Using data from the 2014 Vietnam Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), we investigate the association between sex composition of children and desire for additional children among women in reproductive age (15 to 49 years) across Vietnam (N=5,605). Results: Multivariate logistic regression models showed statistically significant association between sex composition of children and women's fertility desire, after controlling for social norms of fertility preference, demographic and socioeconomic factors. For each group of women (those with one child, two children, and three or more children) women with no sons are more likely to have higher fertility desire compared to women with at least one son. However, women with both son (s) and daughter (s) tend to have lower fertility desire compared to those who have all sons. Conclusion: Vietnam's traditional cultural norm of son preference has a strong influence on fertility desire. Besides, mix-gender preference is also documented. The government should enforce the law more strictly regarding the prohibition of ultrasounds to detect fetal sex to reduce the feasibility of sex selection abortion. In addition, the government should improve the social ideology of the role of women in the family and society through mass media.