Internationally, mental health and social care systems face significant challenges when implementing policy to prevent and respond to domestic violence DV.
This paper reviews the policy process pertaining to the national law on domestic violence prevention and control DVPC within the health system in Vietnam from to , and critically examines the policy-making process and content, the involvement of key actors and the barriers to implementation within the health system. The policy triangle framework was used to analyse the development and implementation process of the Law on DVPC.
The development was a topβdown process directed by state bodies, but it was the first time that international agencies and civil society groups had been involved in the health policy development process.
Policy implementation was slow and delayed due to implementation being optional, decentralization, socio-cultural factors related especially to sensitivity, insufficient budgets, and insufficient cooperation between various actors within the health system and other related DV support systems.
The initial development process for DVPC Law in Vietnam was pressured by external and internal demands, but the subsequent implementation within the health system experienced protracted delays.
