Estimating the cost of domestic violence against women in Viet Nam

To demonstrate the economic effects of the enormous cost of violence against women, UN Women estimated the economic costs of domestic violence considering out-of-pocket expenditures that women incur to access medical treatment, police support, legal support, counseling, and judicial support, and the additional lost school fees if children miss school due to domestic violence experienced by their mothers.

The research provides a reliable estimate of the economic costs of domestic violence considering two elements:

• The actual out-of-pocket expenditures that women incur to access medical treatment, police support, legal support, counseling, and judicial support, and
• An additional out-of-pocket expenditure which is the lost school fees if children miss school due to domestic violence experienced by their mothers.

The conclusions suggest that both out-of-pocket expenditures and lost earnings represented nearly 1.41 per cent of the GDP in Viet Nam in 2010. More importantly, estimated productivity loss due to violence indicates that women experiencing violence earn 35 per cent less than those not abused, representing another significant drain on the national economy.

An estimate of overall productivity loss comes to 1.78 per cent of GDP. These cost estimates underscore the urgent need to comprehensively address domestic violence.

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