Evaluating the vocational training for women with disabilities in vietnam

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

VIETNAM JAPAN UNIVERSITY

PHAM THI LAN HUONG

EVALUATING THE VOCATIONAL
TRAINING FOR WOMEN WITH
DISABILITIES IN VIETNAM

MASTER'S THESIS

Hanoi, 2019


VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
VIETNAM JAPAN UNIVERSITY

PHAM THI LAN HUONG

EVALUATING THE VOCATIONAL
TRAINING FOR WOMEN WITH
DISABILITIES IN VIETNAM

MAJOR: PUBLIC POLICY
CODE: PILOT

RESEARCH SUPERVISOR:
Dr. NGUYEN THUY ANH
Asst. Prof. JUN KAWAGUCHI
Acknowledgment

Hanoi, 2019


ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Foremost, I would like to extend my appreciation and sincere thanks to my
supervisor from the Vietnamese side, Dr. Nguyen Thuy Anh. Her patient and
constructive advice had helped me a lot in the completion of this thesis.
My great gratitude is due to my supervisor from the Japanese side, Dr. Jun
Kawaguchi for imparting his valuable guidance and constant supervision during my
time in Japan and in Vietnam.
Special thanks to the lecturers and staffs in Master’s Program of Public Policy
and researchers for their studies and reports on the topic I have researched, whose
information and findings had been a great support for my thesis.
My appreciation goes to the directors and staffs of vocational training centers
and organizations who willing to participate in the in-depth interviews. Their honest
and cooperative answers have provided useful information for my analysis.
Finally, I would like to express my love and gratitude towards my family and
my friends. Their encouragement and support have shaped my thesis to this stage.

th

Hanoi 17 June 2019, Sincerely,
Pham Thi Lan Huong

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENT.................................................................................................i

TABLE OF CONTENTS............................................................................................... ii
LIST OF TABLES......................................................................................................... iv
LIST OF FIGURES........................................................................................................v
ABBREVIATIONS....................................................................................................... vi
Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................1
1.1. Research background........................................................................................1
1.2. Problem statement.............................................................................................5
1.3. Research purpose..............................................................................................5
1.4. Research questions............................................................................................6
1.5. Research scope and time...................................................................................6
1.6. Research significance........................................................................................6
1.7. Methodology.....................................................................................................7
1.8. Structure of research.........................................................................................7
Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW AND METHODOLOGY......................................9
2.1. Literature review.................................................................................................9
2.1.1. Studies on Persons with Disabilities.............................................................9
2.1.2. Studies on vocational training for women with disabilities........................17
2.1.3. Research gap.............................................................................................. 18
2.2. Theoretical framework...................................................................................... 18
2.3. Research flow.................................................................................................... 20
2.4. In-depth interviews............................................................................................ 22
Chapter 3 CURRENT STATUS OF WOMEN WITH DISABILITIES AND
VOCATIONAL TRAINING FOR WOMEN WITH DISABILITIES IN VIETNAM . 25
3.1. Definition of disability...................................................................................... 25
3.2. Current status of PWDs and WWDs in Vietnam............................................... 28
3.3. Legislation documents and legal framework on PWDs in Vietnam...................33
Chapter 4 FINDINGS................................................................................................... 35
4.1. Interview sites.................................................................................................... 35
4.2. Interview results................................................................................................ 36
4.2.1. From the perspective of owners of vocational training centers for PWDs . 36

4.2.2. From the perspective of a female student with disabilities..........................41
4.2.3. From the perspective of a company who employed PWDs.......................... 44
4.2.4. From the perspective of social organization that works with matters related
to PWDs............................................................................................................... 47
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4.3. Findings and discussion..................................................................................... 48
Chapter 5 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS.......................................... 52
5.1. Conclusion......................................................................................................... 52
5.2 Recommendations.............................................................................................. 53
5.3. Limitations........................................................................................................ 55
REFERENCES............................................................................................................. 56
APPENDIX.................................................................................................................. 60

iii


LIST OF TABLES
Page
Table 2.1 Guidelines and Rules on disability adopted by the UN in the 1990s............13

Table 2.2 Method to evaluate vocational training......................................................... 19
Table 2.3 Theoretical framework to evaluate vocational training used in the thesis.....21
Table 2.4. In-depth interview plan................................................................................ 23
Table 3.1. Share of disability types classified by functional domain and gender (older
than 18 years old)......................................................................................................... 30
Table 4.1 Interview results from the perspective of owners of vocational training centers

for PWDs...................................................................................................................... 36

Table 4.2 Interview results from WWDs who are taking vocational training courses .. 41
Table 4.3 Interview results from the perspective of social organization worker related to

PWDs........................................................................................................................... 47

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LIST OF FIGURES
Page
Figure 1.1. Employment inequality between PWDs and the overall population, by sex. 3
Figure 2.1. Research flow............................................................................................. 22
Figure 3.1 The Interaction between the components of the ICF...................................26
Figure 3.2. Percentage of PWDs (18 years old and above) in the labor force...............31
Figure 3.3. Reasons why PWDs do not work or look for a job..................................... 32

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ABBREVIATIONS
CRPD: Convention on the Rights of Person with Disabilities
PWD: Person with disabilities
PWOD: Person without disabilities
SWD: Student with disabilities
UN: United Nations
UNFPA: United Nation Population Fund
WHO: World Health Organization
WWD: Women with disabilities

vi

Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION
1.1. Research background
As stated by the World Health Organization (WHO), the share of persons with
disabilities had increased from 10% in the 1970s to about 15% in 2011 (cited in Nguyen,
T.A, 2018). According to a report of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2017, there
were 15% of the world population (around 7.8 million people) were suffering from
physical or mental disabilities. As we can see, the quantity of persons with disabilities
(PWD) in the world is quite significant and this figure has been increasing year by year.
There are several reasons for this emerging trend in the world. Firstly, the aging population
has not only put the world in the situation of the aging labor force but also raised the
number of PWDs because there are several types of disabilities appear as people getting
older. Secondly, due to the advancement of technology in medical practice, new types of
disability have been discovered and recognized worldwide. Besides that, the world also
changed the way to approach and shaping the definition of disability. The conventional
concept of disability is usually based on the biological and individual aspect. However, in
recent years, researchers and society have taken into consideration the social and
environmental factors in defining disability. In consonance with that, the disability of a
person is not only represented by the dysfunction of their own bodies but can be affected
by the social, cultural and economic barriers. Defining disability this way gives the society
a new perspective on how to view the PWDs and help to detect and have more people
registered as disabled. PWDs not only have many difficulties in daily life due to their body
dysfunction, but they also face several discriminations. Most of PWDs have a low
education background, very few of them attend in higher education. Due to their disability,
especially learning disability, some PWDs are not able to finish the study program. Also,
the reason could come from prejudices from family, which consider that it would be a wiser
choice to let them study at vocational school and

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working rather than studying. Therefore, compared to the academic path, going to
vocational training and getting a job is more common for most PWDs. Regarding the
women with disabilities (WWDs), due to discrimination and prejudice based on gender and
disability (Nguyen, Mitchell, de Lange, & Fritsch, 2015), they have to face two types of
discriminations: one for they are women, and the other for their disability. In the world
population with disabilities, the “disability is more common among women, older people,
children and adults who are poor” (WHO, 2017). In the report of United Nations
Convention on the Right of the Child UNCRC - (UN, 2006), it is said that “Girls with
disabilities are often even more vulnerable to discrimination due to gender
discrimination.” The struggles and difficulties for women with disabilities in accessing
education and vocational training is vivid, and yet the situation has remained unimproved.
In a smaller scale, among the world’s regions, the South East Asia countries record the
second rank and third rank in the prevalence rate of moderate disability (16%) and severe
disability (12.9%), respectively (WHO, 2013). However, these high figures are still
assumed to be underestimated for this region because most of these countries (except
Indonesia and Thailand) applied the medical approach definition for disability rather than
the definition of ICF which included the social and cultural aspect. The situation that few
children with disabilities attend school is quite common in lots of countries in this region.
Data from Nuri et, al. (2012) shows that the difference between school attendance rates of
children with and without disabilities varies from 10% in India to 60% in Indonesia. In
Nepal, there are 68% of PWDs have no education (ILO & IRISH AID, 2013). In a report
of International Labor Organization (ILO), it is stated that in Thailand, there are nearly two
million people (around 3% of the total population) have a disability and majority of them
live in the rural area. The report also cited data from Thailand National Statistics Office
Survey in 2007 which show that more than 60% of the PWDs over the age of 15 are
unemployed. Especially, among the employed, only a few of them are hired for
professional occupations and a majority (more than 50%) worked in the agriculture and
fishing sector (ILO & IRISH AID, 2013). Noticeably, the

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percentage of employed men and women are 43% and 28% respectively show that men
with disabilities have more chance in getting a job than women with disabilities (ILO &
IRISH AID, 2013). ESCAP (2018) also provided a similar comment saying that in many

countries in the Asia and Pacific region, men with disabilities are employed more than
women with disabilities.

Figure 1.1. Employment inequality between PWDs and the overall population, by
sex. Adapted from the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
(ESCAP) (2018). Building Disability – Inclusive Societies in Asia and the Pacific.
Assessing Progress of the Incheon Strategy. United Nations Publication.
The data in Figure 1.1 reflects that the employment inequality of both sexes tends
to be higher in the Asia countries, for instance, Mongolia, Thailand, Hong Kong, and
China. Also, for most countries, the inequality in employment for females with
disabilities is equal to or higher than men.
There are a few trends we can get from looking at the world and the Asia-Pacific
context. For starters, the population of PWDs in the world is marginalized and more
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common in groups of poor people, children, and women. Secondly, the percentage of
PWDs is increasing. Thirdly, since many developing countries still apply the
impairment-based definition of disability - which conflicts with the ICF definitionthe data on PWDs in the world is not homogeneous. Finally, the PWDs still face many
discriminations which create more difficulties for them to access education and
employment. Especially, women with disabilities still face more discriminations than
men with disabilities and have more disadvantage in getting a job.

The number of PWDs in Vietnam has been among the highest in the world (Nguyen,
T.A, 2018). There are around 6 million people with disabilities represent 7.8% of the total
population in Vietnam (MOLISA, 2017). The government has made a lot of effort in
supporting the life of people with disabilities and help them to integrate with society.
However, in the mindset of citizens and the government, disabled people are referred to
someone who needs to be protected, and they cannot contribute to society. This mindset is
a kind of discrimination toward disabled people since it underestimates the ability to
integrate with society and the contribution of PWDs. Keeping being faced with that
mindset, disabled people are often isolated from opportunities to get sufficient education
and employment. They are provided with trivial support in vocational training and rejected
by most companies due to their disabilities. Meanwhile, firms who employed disabled
people or were established by disabled people are often small size business with low profit
(handicrafts, massage, and knitting). In that context, the disabled women in Vietnam are
facing even more discrimination than the male disabled. According to the Vietnam
Household Living Standard Survey 2008 by GSO, the proportion of female and male
disabled are 16.58% and 13.69% respectively. The number of disabled women is larger
than men because they have higher longevity. WWDS are now facing double
discrimination, one is discrimination toward disabled people, and the other is
discrimination to women. Researches of Rydstrom (2010) and UNFPA (2009) showing
evidence of girls with disabilities have more disadvantages than boy within the education

4


setting in Vietnam, and only a few interventions were made to improve the situation
(cited in Nguyen & Mitchell, 2014). WWDs are often viewed as abnormal and inferior
to persons without disabilities, and they are considered as the shame of family, a
burden for the future economy and hindering the industrialization process of the
countries (Nguyen & Mitchell, 2014). Therefore, disabled women in Vietnam have
even fewer opportunities to get employed. ILO (2008) also stated that WWDs have

more difficulties in finding job and access vocational training than disabled men while
vocational training is necessary for disabled people to enhance their social integration.
Therefore, it is essential to have a research to evaluate the vocational training and
education system in Vietnam for PWDs and the especially for the women with
disabilities and from then can propose suitable solutions to improve the vocational
training for the WWDs and help them to integrate with society effectively.
1.2.

Problem statement

Among the total population of PWDs in Vietnam, the percentage of WWDs is
higher than men. In addition, they are facing more discriminations and prejudices
than, which make them have more disadvantages in finding a job than normal people
and men with disabilities. Considering the fact that a majority of PWDs have
vocational training rather than attending school, improving the quality of vocational
training might be good for the integration of people with disability. Especially for the
WWDs, who now have more difficulties in accessing vocational training and getting
employment than men with disabilities, it is necessary to evaluate vocational training
in Vietnam to give a clear view on the current situation and empowering the voice and
perspective of WWDs more to society.
1.3.

Research purpose

The research aims at giving an overview and evaluation of the current status of the
vocational training in Vietnam for persons with disabilities and especially for women

5

with disabilities. From the analysis, the paper will then propose suitable policy
implications to improve the vocational training for the WWDs and contribute to
enhancing the ability to integrate with the society of women with disabilities.
1.4.

Research questions

The main research question is “How is the current situation of vocational training
in Vietnam for women with disabilities?”. To clarify this matter, the paper focuses on
answering the following sub-questions:
▪
▪
▪

1.5.

How the support from the government in vocational training for PWDs and
especially WWDs?
Do WWDs have any challenges in accessing vocational training?
Are there any difficulties and discriminations that WWD have to face in
vocational training?
Research scope and time

Regarding the time scale, the author collected the data from 2008 to 2018. In order
to analyze the situation of vocational training, the research using the secondary data
from relevance studies, Vietnam Household Living Standard Survey (VHLSS) and
National Survey on People with Disability of General Statistics Office of Vietnam in
2008 and 2016. The primary data is obtained from in-depth interviews.
The in-depth interview sites focus on Hanoi. All three interviewed vocational
training centers and the company are located in Hanoi.

1.6.

Research significance

Regarding academic significance, the research hopes to contribute as a data source
on vocational training for persons with disabilities and especially for women with
disabilities with updated data for further studies. Conducting in-depth interviews with

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different stakeholders would give diverse viewpoints on the situation of vocational
training for WWDs in Vietnam.
For social significance, the implications are proposed with the hope to improve the
situation of vocational training for WWDs in Vietnam. Finally, by analyzing
vocational training service they are provided, the research brings a clear view of the
challenges and the difficulties that women with disabilities are now facing in job
training and employment. Moreover, this could contribute to empower the voice of
women with disabilities in society and increase their opportunities to integrate more
and better with the community.
1.7.

Methodology

This research will use the qualitative method. The qualitative method contains desk
research on secondary data relating to the international experience and national
situation on vocational training for WWDs and in-depth interviews. The interview
target aims at women with disabilities who are older than 15 years old, vocational
training teachers, leaders of organization/institutions of PWDs in Hanoi. Besides, the
research also conducts interviews with the officers of organizations for PWDs.

1.8.

Structure of research

The thesis will contain five chapters with the contents as follow:
Chapter 1: Introduction. This chapter will illustrate the research background and
clarify the research problem. The research questions, research methodology, and
significance of the research are also presented in this part.
Chapter 2: Literature review and methodology. The content of this chapter focuses
on reviewing available literature history of research on PWDs in the world and Vietnam,
especially legislation documents and legal frameworks for PWDs and also studies that
have been done on assessing vocational training for PWDs and women with

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disabilities in Vietnam. The second part will clarify the theoretical framework and
methodology applied in the research.
Chapter 3: Current status of women with disabilities and vocational training
for women with disabilities in Vietnam. Chapter 3 will clarify the definition of
disability according to the international standard and Vietnam’s law. Then, the overall
picture of statistical data relating to WWDs and vocational training for PWDs in
Vietnam is presented and analyzed.
Chapter 4: Findings. This chapter shows the findings resulting from in-depth
interviews. These finding will then be analyzed and discussed in this part.
Chapter 5: Conclusion and recommendations. This is the final chapter of this
research which summaries all the main findings and discussion from the analysis in
the above chapters. Then, the author will provide suitable recommendations to
improve the vocational training situation for WWDs in Vietnam.

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Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW AND METHODOLOGY
2.1. Literature review
2.1.1. Studies on Persons with Disabilities
International documents and studies on Persons with Disabilities
The matter of disability has received the attention of society and the academic
community from quite a long time. World Health Organization stated in their 2011
report that disability can be classified as human rights issues due to these following
reasons. Firstly, PWDs experience several inequalities in accessing public services
such as health care, employment, education or politic participation due to their
disabilities. Secondly, the dignity of PWDs tends to be violated as they could be
victims of violence, abuse in school and workplace, prejudice or disrespect because of
their disabilities. Moreover, in the worst case, their autonomy is denied, where they are
forced to join in the organizations and institution that go against their will or when they
are considered as incompetent due to their disabilities.
Several international documents have stressed that disabilities fall into the category of
human rights issues, namely the World Programme of Action Concerning Disabled People
in 1982, the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for People with
Disabilities in 1993. In many places in the world, people have shown their advocation and
positive attitude in ensuring human rights for people with disabilities. There are 39
countries in the world were recorded that have adopted law related to discrimination of
people with disabilities during the 1990s period (Quinn & Degener, 2002).

Dated back more than two decades ago, lots of international documents relating to
the human rights issues and disability had been released by the United Nations. These
documents are rather resolutions, conventions and declarations which based solely on
the mutual agreements between countries. Since the regulations are not strictly
9

compulsory but rather depend on the voluntary of each country, in the studies of Quinn
and Degener in 2002, these documents were only referred as “soft” law (p.29). A
number of resolutions dealing with rehabilitation were adopted by two agencies, the
Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly of United Nations since the
mid of the twentieth century. Both agents had approved major and significant
resolutions. The Economic and Social Council ratified a resolution in 1950 regarding
the social rehabilitation problem of the physically disabled people. Study of Quinn and
Degener (2002) implies that the Economic and Social Council is particularly more
active than the General Assembly. However, the two resolutions in the 70s years
adopted by the General Assembly worth special attention since they represent the first
signals of the transition to the approach of disability issues which based more on the
human rights aspect. The first resolution was entitled “Declaration on the Rights of
Mentally Retarded Persons”. Focusing on the group of Mentally Retarded Persons, the
resolution states that they appreciate equivalent human rights as other groups of
citizens (Article 1). However, there are rights that are especially important to such
individuals, which including education, training, and rehabilitation. The other
resolution was adopted four years later in 1975, namely “Declaration on the Rights of
Disabled Persons”. This resolution also claims that PWDs have similar civil and
political rights as persons without disabilities (paragraph 4). Paragraph 8 states that the
special needs of disabled should be taken into consideration in all stages of the
economic and social planning process. Especially, regarding the rights to access
employment, paragraph 7 of the declaration said that PWDs “have the right, according
to their capabilities, to secure and retain employment or to engage in a useful,
productive and remunerative occupation and join trade unions” (p.88). According to
this, persons with disabilities have the right and should be encouraged to participate in
society through jobs and occupations that suitable for their ability. Another noticing
message from paragraph 12 refers to the right of organization of PWDs to be “usefully
consulted in all matters regarding the rights of disabled persons” (p.89).

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The General Assembly of United Nations announced 1981 as the International Year of
Disabled People (IYDP) with the motto “Full participation and equality”. The following
decade from 1983 to 1992 was referred to as the International Decade of Disabled Person
(Quinn & Degener, 2002). This period had witnessed a memorable shift to the rights-based
approach. In consonance with that, the world community has shown its commitment to
ensuring the human rights for PWDs. In 1982, following the International Year of Disabled
Persons, the General Assembly adopted “World Programme of Action concerning Disabled
Persons” (WPA). This program provides the policy framework with “effective measures”
aims at: i) prevention of disability, ii) rehabilitation and iii) equalization of opportunities
for PWDs. The first two objectives are familiar as it had appeared in the traditional
“caring” model. The existence of the third aim – equalization of opportunities – in the
resolution represents the slow but certain transition toward the new model that promotes a
rights-based approach. This becomes the philosophy that guides the achievement of full
participation of PWDs in all aspects of the social and economic field. The implementation
of WPA needs periodic monitoring and evaluation at every level include national, regional
and international. Therefore, every five years, the implementation of WPA was reviewed.
The first review in Stockholm raised the need for a convention on human rights of PWDs.
The second review in 1992 reported that participation of PWDs in the decision-making
process still not significant. Majority of states had not adopted a comprehensive national
program on rights for PWDs. In countries that have programs for PWDs, these programs
tend to be separated from the overall social-economic plan of the country. Quinn and
Degener (2002) reported in their study that though several countries had made efforts in
equalizing opportunities for PWDs, it is still early to say those efforts would succeed or
not. The report in five years later (1997) summarized relevant development relating to the
implementation of WPA during the 1990s period. In the mid of 1990s, A Long-Term
Strategy to Implement the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons to the
Year 2000 and Beyond was adopted. The United Nations had established an

11


important fund entitled Voluntary Fund on Disability by the resolution 32/133 of
General Assembly. The member countries of the United Nations would donate to the
fund on a voluntary basis and the money is used for support: i) promoting better
understanding of disability issues and knowledge and experience exchange; ii) building
capacities for nations and institutions, for policies and programs to integrate PWDs and
for the national legislation on disability; iii) improving data collection, applied research
and evaluation of disability in the world scale and national scale; iv) facilitating pilot
effort and v) promoting spreading of qualified disability technologies.
Two influential studies of the United Nations carried out by Daes (1986) and Despouy
(1003) also reflected the trend of approaching disability issues based on rights. Daes

(1986) along with the resolution of UN in 1991 set the new start to the perception of
the role of law on mental disorder people. Despouy (1993) showed evidence on a
number of cases where PWDs have their human rights abused because of their
disabilities. Another point that worth noticing in Despouy’s study is that the disabled
community did not benefit much from the convention on disability as other vulnerable
group did from their related convention. The vulnerable groups here according to
Despouy includes refugees, women, migrant workers, etc. He reported that there is no
specific international agent to monitor the respect for human rights issues of PWDs and
provide the specific protection to the disabled people.
Beside the WPA, the effort of the United Nations in promoting the human rights for
PWDs also showed in the publications related to guidelines and rules on disability
issues in the 1990s (Table 2.1).

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Table 2.1 Guidelines and Rules on disability adopted by the UN in the 1990s
Name
Guidelines for the Establishment and Development of National
Coordinating Committees on Disability or Similar Bodies
Principles for the Protection of Persons with Mental Illness and for the
Improvement of Mental Health Care
Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with
Disabilities
Note: Adapted from Quinn, G., & Degener, T. (2002). Human Rights and Disability
The current use and future potential of United Nations human rights instruments in the
context of disability. 1–307.
It is stated in the Standard Rules that PWDs “may exercise the same rights and
obligations as others” (paragraph 15). The Standard Rules play a vital role in guiding
the action of the United Nations on ensuring the equalization of opportunities for
PWDs. However, it still weak in legal effect since there is no treaty was formed to in
charge of implementing the rules.
Many other important documents from international conferences also relate indirectly to
the field of disability. The World Conference on Human Rights in 1993 adopted the Vienna
Declaration and Programme of Action, which also stated that PWDs should have the same
human rights enjoyed by others (paragraph 63). The Copenhagen Declaration on Social
Development and the Programme of Action adopted in the World Summit for Social
Development in Copenhagen in 1995 contained many general provisions that can directly
apply to the disability field. Especially, according to the Programme of Action, the
government by promoting and implementing the Standard Rules on the Equalization

13


of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities could help to respond to the special

needs of PWDs.
We can see that the United Nations has been the most active international
organization in ensuring human rights for PWDs. Every two years the United Nations
Commission on Human Rights will promulgate a resolution on disability. Moreover,
several important meetings of experts on disability throughout the world had been
arranged by the United Nations Secretary.
In 2006, The Convention on the Right of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) was
rd

approved at the United Nations Headquarters and entered into force on May 3 , 2008.
The Convention promotes changing the attitudes and approaches to PWDs from
viewing them as charity, medical treatment and social protection “objects” to
“subjects” that deserve equal respect and human rights. This is the first comprehensive
st

treaty on human rights in the 21 century. It shows a broad classification of PWDs and
affirms that regardless of the types of disabilities, they must have all human rights and
fundamental freedoms. The CRPD clarifies the international laws regarding disability
and is a useful document even for states that do not ratify it. For countries that ratify
the CRPD, the government must consult with PWDs and the organization of PWDs in
the process of developing law, policies, and programs to implement the CRPD.
WHO (2011), a report on disability, aims at providing a comprehensive description
of disability and the importance of this field. The report analyzed the relationship
between disability and human rights, disability and development. Through the data of
PWDs worldwide and their situation in various aspects such as health care,
rehabilitation, support and assistant services, education and employment, the report
draw an overview picture of the situation of PWDs in the global scale and propose
recommendations at national and international level.

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In the regional scale, the Asia-Pacific areas are one of the places with the highest
prevalence rates of PWDs in the world. Therefore, there are a lot of research, reports, and
international document specified in disability issues in this region. In 2012, the
governments of the ESCAP members got together in Incheon, Korea and charted the
Ministerial Declaration on the Asia and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities in
Asia and the Pacific in the period 2013-2022 and the Incheon Strategy to “Make the Right
Real” for Persons with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific. The strategy has strengthened
efforts of countries in implementing human rights for PWDs in the regions and it is
presented as the first set of “regionally agreed disability-inclusive development goals”
(ESCAP, 2015, p.iii). The study of ESCAP (2018) analyzed the barriers to employment of
PWDs in the region and suggested recommendations to improve their employment
perspective. The author provided an overview of disability legislation in the Asia and
Pacific region as well as specific information of some countries.

SIDA (2014) gives a brief overview of disability rights in ASEAN countries,
including Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Myanmar, Philippines, Laos,
Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Accordingly, the ASEAN countries have made
efforts in implementing a great amount of legislation and policy to advance the rights
of PWDs. However, there are significant gaps in the legal system and policies. The
study acknowledges the lack of reliable, up-to-date source of statistics on disability
across the region due to the difference in the definition of disability.
Studies on Persons with disabilities in Vietnam
Researchers in Vietnam tend to focus on stigma and discriminations toward PWDs.
Regarding the topic of stigma toward PWDs, in 2013, ISDA attempted to measure the
perceived stigma for both people with and without disabilities. This method is applied in
ISEE (2017). The latter research uses a different framework to assess stigma and focus
only on PWDs. The study of ISEE focuses on investigating the stigma that PWDs feel

15


and see in various fields such as education and employment opportunity, health care
and mental health. The author collected data from 516 respondents who are PWDs in
three regions in Vietnam. Aside questionnaires survey, ISEE also conducted in-depth
interviews and group discussion sessions. The research offers an assessment of the
situation of stigma toward PWDs in Vietnam from the viewpoint of PWDs. The stigma
for PWDs in employment also analyzed in the paper, though they did not go further
into the vocational training situation of PWDs.
Study of Nguyen, T.A (2018) reviews the legal framework and policies of Vietnam
in government regarding PWDs. The author investigated the commitments of the
country to international policies and standards. The main target of this research is
students with disabilities (SWDs), thus the author focuses on the legislation towards
SWDs in particular and highlights the problems and challenges in creating a better
inclusive learning environment for PWDs at the higher education level in Vietnam.
Nguyen and Mitchell (2014) present an intersectionality perspective on the
inclusion of girls with disabilities in education in Vietnam. The author discussed the
change in inclusive education for girls with disabilities in Vietnam, especially the
treatment they get in social and education policy. Nguyen and Mitchell, through
analysis of relevant studies, stated that boys with disabilities had more privilege in
accessing education than girls with disabilities. Nguyen et al. (2015) continued this
research topic which focuses on addressing a theoretical and methodological approach
in support of inclusive education for girls with disabilities in Vietnam. Through the
project Monitoring Educational Rights for Girls with Disabilities in Vietnamese
schools, the authors studied and analyzed the experiences of 21 girls with disabilities
participated in the project. The method applied to monitor the rights of the respondents
called participatory visual methodology which analyzed the experience and thought of
the respondents through pictures and photos.

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In 2018, the General Statistic Office of Vietnam (GSO) has conducted a national
survey on PWDs, offers an overall picture of PWDs in Vietnam with updated data until the
year 2016. An interesting point is that in this study, GSO had applied the ICF definition of
disability to recalculate the number of PWDs in Vietnam according to the international
standard. The survey covers a variety of field related to PWDs such as education, poverty,
living condition, social protection, employment, health and attitudes, and social
participation. This is a nationwide survey with sample size of 35,442 households. The
situation of employment for PWDs has been investigated in this paper, however, the
authors do not go further into the job training issues for PWDs.

2.1.2. Studies on vocational training for women with disabilities
MOLISA has published two reports in 2012 related to vocational training in
Vietnam, one focuses on the statistic of the vocational training system in general
(MOLISA, 2012a) and the other focuses on the status of financial support for
vocational training system in Vietnam (MOLISA, 2012b). These two reports provide
detail information on the number and the current situation of vocational training in
Vietnam. However, the data on vocational training for disabled people is still limited.
NIVT – GIZ (2016) approaches the vocational training in the orientation toward
sustainable development. The study promotes greening vocational training system in
Vietnam in order to move forward the green economy and sustainable development.
The author analyzed and suggested a solution to attain a green vocational training
system. According to the study, students in vocational school should be taught green
skill and knowledge related to the environment, the list of the green job also provided
and analyzed in this paper. Study of Hang, N. T (2013) analyzes the vocational training
system in Vietnam through the approach from social demand for vocational training.
ILO report in 2008 provides a view on the vocational training for disabled people and
also mention the disabled women. However, the study mainly focused on providing the

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