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Vietnam and Disability Rights: Perspectives at the Time of Ratification of the

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DOI: 10.1080/1034912X.2020.1716958

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Vietnam and Disability Rights: Perspectives at the

Time of Ratification of the UN Convention on the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Matthew Bogenschutz, Hyojin Im, Annie Liang & Lan Thi Quyhn Luong

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DISABILITY, DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATION
https://doi.org/10.1080/1034912X.2020.1716958

Vietnam and Disability Rights: Perspectives at the Time of

Ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities
Matthew Bogenschutza, Hyojin Ima, Annie Lianga and Lan Thi Quyhn Luongb
a
School of Social Work, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA; bEye Care Institute, Ho Chi
Minh City, Vietnam

ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
Vietnam ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Disability rights; people with
Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2015, signalling a commitment to disabilities; qualitative
the basic human rights of citizens with disabilities. Previous research research; thematic analysis;
has shown people with disabilities in Vietnam to be marginalised in United Nations Convention
on the Rights of Persons with
society, often with limited educational or work opportunity, and with Disabilities; Vietnam
limited financial means. Using in-depth semi-structured interviews
conducted in Vietnam and a thematic analysis approach to data inter-
pretation, this article examines the current status of people with dis-
abilities in Vietnam in relation to the core elements of the CRPD, from
the perspectives of people with disabilities, their families, and profes-
sionals who support them. Findings suggest that, while Vietnamese
society has made strides supporting people with disabilities, work
remains to be done for the country to comply with the CRPD’s core
principles. Suggestions for future action are offered, including ways to
support human rights of people with disabilities within cultural
contexts.

Introduction
In the decades following the Vietnam Conflict (called the American War in Vietnam),
Vietnam has rebuilt to become one of the world’s most rapidly emerging economies.
Political reformation in 1986, referred to as Doi Moi, produced opportunities to bolster the
market economy, dramatically reducing extreme poverty rates (World Bank, 2016).
However, the results of modern industrialisation in Vietnam have left marginalised
groups, such as people with disabilities, disproportionately living in poverty
(International Labour Organisation [ILO], 2013).
According to a 2009 census report, 7.8% of Vietnam’s population, approximately
6.7 million people, live with a disability (United Nations Population Fund, 2011).
A contributing factor to the high prevalence of disabilities is parental exposure to Agent
Orange, a dioxin used during the Vietnam War, leading to birth defects and neurological
impairments (Ngo, Taylor, Roberts, & Nguyen, 2006). Vietnamese households consisting of
a person with a disability, are more likely to live in poverty in comparison to their counter-
parts without a member with a disability (Mont and Nguyen, 2011). The direct costs of living

CONTACT Matthew Bogenschutz mdbogenschut@vcu.edu

© 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
2 M. BOGENSCHUTZ ET AL.

with a disability include the burden of healthcare, hospitalisations, rehabilitation, and

medication expenses (Palmer et al., 2011). The indirect cost of living with a disability is
multifaceted, requiring high levels of support by caregivers, resulting in caregiver stress and
consumption of time needed for work and sustainable income (Palmer, Groce, Mont,
Nguyen, & Mitra, 2015). The relationship between poverty and challenges for educational
and vocational integration are interrelated and serve as a cyclical barrier, inhibiting social
mobility and self-sustainability for people with disabilities in Vietnam (Mont & Cuong, 2011).
Against this backdrop of high disability prevalence and disproportionate poverty among
people with disabilities, Vietnam ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities in 2015.

U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD; United
Nations General Assembly, 2006) is an international treaty designed to protect the human
rights of individuals with all forms of disability. The Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol (A/RES/61/106) was adopted on
13 December 2006 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, and was opened
for signature on 30 March 2007. As of August 2018, 151 state parties had ratified the CRPD.
The Optional Protocol, which established a mechanism by which individuals or groups
can make claims of rights violations to be investigated by the Committee on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities, has been ratified by 85 countries. Going beyond the need to
simply protect the basic rights of persons with disabilities, the CRPD suggests that
countries that are a party to the convention actively promote the abilities of all citizens,
and work to create societies that are free of disability-related marginalisation (United
Nations, 2006a).
United Nations Enable (2007) published a document outlining the eight guiding
principles of the CRPD (United Nations Enable, 2007), which have been adopted as the
main framework for analysis in this study. The guiding principles include: (a) respect for
inherent dignity individual autonomy (including choice making), (b) non-discrimination,
(c) full participation in society, (d) Respect for difference and acceptance of disability as
a form of diversity, (e) equality of opportunity, (f) accessibility, (g) gender equality, and (h)
respect for evolving capacities and the right to preserve individual identity. Taken
together, these principles summarise the intent of the CRPD, and may be used as
a basis upon which to assess a country’s adherence to the treaty’s requirements.

Education and Vocation for People with Disabilities

In Vietnamese culture, educational attainment is a highly prized and continues to be
a strong determinant for social mobility (Belanger & Liu, 2008). Opportunities for people
with disabilities in educational institutions are limited and are often interrelated with the
economic costs of education. The rates of primary school enrolment for children with
disabilities was about 69%, in comparison to the 96% of peers enrolled without functional
limitations (Mont & Cuong, 2011). While it is estimated that about 9.5% of a family’s
annual income is needed to support a household member with a disability (Minh et al.,
2014), financial capacity to support educational needs is often limited. The development
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DISABILITY, DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATION 3

of the ‘Inclusive Education’ programme, initiated by international non-governmental

organisations (NGO), has promoted the integration of children with disabilities in the
mainstream curriculum (Rydstrom, 2010). However, the need for assistive and educational
resources continues to be dire for teachers who wish to improve teaching competency in
an integrated model.
The implementation of the Vocational Training Law in 2006 has promoted the need for
training and jobs for people with disabilities (National Coordinating Council on Disability
[NCCD], 2010). Moreover, the State’s Labour Code: Article 125 mandates the state to
provide financial support to fund vocational training and provide low-interest loans for
people with disabilities (ILO, 2013). Despite such laws, in 2008 only 12.1% of people with
disabilities received vocational training (NCCD, 2010). The low participation rate for
vocational training is due to multiple factors including lack of knowledge regarding
vocational training, barriers in accessing training in rural areas, inadequate training
systems, and limited job placements following vocational training (International Labour
Organisation, 2013; National Coordinating Council on Disability, 2010; UN Population
Fund, 2011). The barriers to education and vocational training prefaces the employment
outlook for people with disabilities, which is limited and often leads to reliance on the
household and caregivers. Findings from the ILO (2013) found that 70% of people with
disabilities in rural areas and 80% living in urban areas are dependent on caregivers,
relatives, and government assistance.
In a 2009 census study conducted by the UN Population Fund (2011), labour force
participation rates for people with severe disabilities were low: 82.7% of people without
disabilities were employed, meanwhile only 25.3% of people with severe disabilities
participated in the labour force (United Nations Population Fund, 2011). People with
disabilities that establish some form of employment are often working as unskilled
workers in low-paying labour sectors (Duong, Hong, & Vinh, 2008). Although the Labour
Law intends to support the training and vocational placement needs of people with
disabilities, there is a wide gap in support for employment consultation and monitoring
the progress of people with disabilities in the workplace (National Coordinating Council
on Disability, 2010).

Social Context for People with Disabilities

The government of Vietnam has adopted policies to promote social integration for people
with disabilities, including the Law on People with Disabilities of 2010, ensuring equal
participation in social activities and supporting self-determination and notions of com-
munity inclusion. Moreover, Vietnam’s participation in the Biwako Framework, an outline
for inclusive societies in the Asia-Pacific region, was enacted to increase societal knowl-
edge about the challenges facing people with disabilities (National Coordinating Council
on Disability, 2010).
Despite such policy initiatives, Bogenschutz, Im, and Liang (2016) found a multitude of
barriers to social inclusion of people with disabilities in their communities, ranging from
social stigma based in spiritual beliefs to inadequate infrastructure, to intrapersonal
factors such as low confidence and self-esteem. Ngo and colleagues (2013) found such
barriers to be particularly intense in areas known to have contamination from Agent
Orange. Such barriers to inclusion often extend to family members of people with
4 M. BOGENSCHUTZ ET AL.

disabilities, who have been found to have smaller social networks than caregivers of
children without disabilities (Park, Glidden, & Shin, 2009) and struggles with emotional
functioning (Nguyen & Berry, 2013).

Aim of Study
The current study was designed to offer a snapshot of the status of people with disabilities
in Vietnam around the time at which Vietnam ratified the CRPD. Vietnam became
a signatory to the CRPD in October of 2007, and formally ratified the treaty in February
of 2015 (Disabled World, 2016). Using the guiding principles of the Convention (U.N.
Enable, 2007) as an analytic template, this study took the firsthand knowledge and
experience of people from multiple stakeholder groups to develop an understanding of
where Vietnam stands on complying with CRPD’s goals, and where improvements may be
made. The study seeks to address one core research question: How did people with
disabilities and their supporters make sense of their status in Vietnamese society at the
time of their county’s ratification of the CRPD?

Method
All procedures used in the conduct of this study were reviewed and approved by the
institutional review board at the authors’ affiliated university.

Location of Study
This study was conducted on-site in Da Nang, one of the five centrally-controlled cities in
Vietnam, with a population of slightly over one million (General Statistics Office, 2015).
Located on the country’s central coast, Da Nang was the site of considerable foreign
investment, since the city was the location of significant military activity during the
American/Vietnam War, which left behind a number of dioxin hotspots. Dioxin (com-
monly referred to at Agent Orange) is known to cause birth defects, contributing to Da
Nang’s relatively high rate of physical and intellectual disabilities (Palmer, 2005).

Participants
Sampling
The researchers worked with personnel from an international NGO, who assisted them in
identifying potential participants. The researchers had strong working relationships with
the NGO personnel from engaging in previous work with them, which facilitated the
mutual trust necessary to perform this study’s activities.
As cultural brokers for the study, staff from the NGO made contact with potential
participants via telephone to inform them about the study, including the aims of the
research and what the individual would be asked to do if they decided to participate.
A script was used to guide their initial conversations. If an individual agreed to meet with
the researchers, a time and place were set. At the onset of the meeting, the researchers
once again explained the purpose of the study and obtained informed consent in
Vietnamese, with the assistance of an interpreter.
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DISABILITY, DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATION 5

The researchers used purposive sampling to identify a pool of participants represent-

ing different stakeholder perspectives related to the living conditions of people with
disabilities in Vietnam. Among professionals, the researchers aimed to gain participants
from different disciplines with knowledge of the education and health of people with
disabilities. Government officials were selected to represent a variety of ranks and
positions in the parts of the local government that were responsible for providing
supports to individuals with disabilities and their families. Family members and people
with disabilities were purposively sampled to represent a variety of ages and disability
types. It is worth noting that, on the recommendation of our cultural brokers, the
researchers over-sampled caregivers of people with disabilities, since people with dis-
abilities in Vietnam tend to defer to their elders, even when they are able to speak for
themselves.

Sample Characteristics
This study included interviews with 28 individuals, including three people with disabilities,
15 parents of people with disabilities, six professionals, and four government officials. The
professionals included teachers at both government and private schools, health profes-
sionals, and people who oversaw social services. All of the professionals and government
officials were selected because they work directly with people with disabilities. Table 1
provides an overview of the parents and people with disabilities who participated in the
study, and Table 2 includes basic information about the professionals and government
representatives.
A note on diagnoses is warranted. Many people in Vietnam do not obtain a formal
disability diagnosis, as would be expected in developed Western countries. Rather, many
individuals refer to their disability functionally, for instance as a disability in movement,
thinking, or seeing. Additionally, severity of disability is often not denoted in Vietnam.
Since our aim was to understand the current status of people with disabilities, we did not
endeavour to gather precise diagnoses. Rather, we relied on self-reports or parental
reports of disability type, which resulted in diagnoses of variable precision.
All participants lived within the city limits of Da Nang, including the vast rural areas on
the outskirts of the city. In Table 1, the researchers have included information about
whether the family was designated as ‘poor’ by the government, which afforded them
free basic health insurance and a small monthly disability stipend for the child. The
researchers also included information about whether the person with a disability was
attending an integrated ‘normal’ school, or a segregated ‘special’ school, since this
differentiation was sometimes viewed by parents and disability professionals as an
indication of a child’s degree of inclusion.

Data Collection
Interview Tool
The researchers used a semi-structured interview protocol to guide their discussions. As
noted by DiCicco-Bloom and Crabtree (2006), semi-structured interviewing allows
researchers to elicit information from research participants efficiently and consistently,
while still affording the researcher flexibility to delve deeper into potentially sensitive
topics (Elmir, Schmied, Jackson, & Wilkes, 2011).
 6

Table 1. Participant characteristics: caregivers and self-advocates.

M. BOGENSCHUTZ ET AL.

Informant Age Informant Sex Child’s Age Child’s Sex Type of Disability Going to School/Work? Designated as ‘Poor’ Household Size
Caregiver 1 (Father) 37 Male 19 Male Cerebral Palsy Normal School No 2
Caregiver 2 (Mother) 27 Female 6 Male Autism Special School Yes 5
Caregiver 3 (Grandmother) 55 Female 15 Female Agent Orange Normal School Yes 3
Caregiver 4 (Father) 31 Male 3 Female Not Disclosed None No 3
Caregiver 5 (Father) 44 Male 9 Female Not Disclosed Normal School No 10
Caregiver 6 (Mother) 30 Female 12 Female Down Syndrome Special School No 7
Caregiver 7 (Mother) 39 Female 17 Male Cerebral Palsy None Yes 6
Caregiver 8 (Mother) 48 Female 11 Male Heart Defect Special School No 5
Caregiver 9 (Father) 39 Male 13 Male Intellectual Disability Special School No 5
Caregiver 10 (Mother) 48 Female 24 Male Intellectual Disability Special School No 2
Caregiver 11 (Mother) 46 Female 22 Male Visual Impairment None No 4
Caregiver 12 (Mother) 26 Female 3 Male Intellectual Disability Special School No 6
Caregiver 13 (Father) 45 Male 16 Female Epilepsy Special School No 4
Caregiver 14 (Grandmother) 56 Female 11 Male Intellectual Disability Normal School No 5
Caregiver 15 (Mother) 41 Female 9 Male Down Syndrome Special School Yes 3
Self-Advocate 1 n/a n/a 26 Male Haemophilia Working Yes 3
Self-Advocate 2 n/a n/a 35 Female Physical Disability Working No 3
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DISABILITY, DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATION 7

Table 2. Participant characteristics: professionals and government officials.

Age Sex Position Time in Profession
Professional 1 50 Female School Principal 25 yr.
Professional 2 48 Female Doctor 15 yr.
Professional 3 29 Female Psychologist 4 yr.
Professional 4 36 Female Teacher 14 yr.
Professional 5 42 Female Teacher 22 yr.
Professional 6 37 Female Teacher 16 yr.
Government Official 1 48 Female Department of Health 26 yr.
Government Official 2 38 Female Ward Women’s Union 15 yr.
Government Official 3 42 Female Ward Case Manager 5 yr.
Government Official 4 59 Male Department of Education 38 yr.

Our interview protocol had nine core questions, each with associated follow-up ques-
tions that could be used based on the researchers’ discretion. The core questions, which
were asked to all participants, covered a range of broad topics. For example, questions
included, ‘What types of supports are available to your child to help her/him live a good
life?’, ‘What types of barriers might prevent your child from living a good life?’, and ‘Would
you say your child is fully integrated with society? Why or why not?’
The interview tool was initially developed by members of the research team. An initial
draft of the protocol was sent to personnel from the NGO in Da Nang, who reviewed it and
offered minor suggestions for edits, in order to make language easier to translate. The
final English version of the interview guide was translated from English to Vietnamese for
use in data collection. The translated interview protocol was double checked for accuracy
by another bilingual individual, who noted no need for changes.
All participants were asked the same basic set of core questions, which were only
altered to be appropriate for the participant’s position. For example, parents were asked
about their child, people with disabilities were asked about themselves, and professionals
were asked about people with disabilities. Follow up questions tended to be more
tailored to the specific expertise and experience of each participant.

Interview Procedure
After the initial contact was made by the cultural brokers, two members of the research
team and their interpreter met potential study participants at the location of their
choosing, which included family homes, schools, offices, and coffee shops. Conducting
interviews at the place of participants’ choosing helped to create an initial rapport and
allowed the researchers to understand contexts from the setting, as suggested by Doody
and Noonan (2013).
After conducting informed consent procedures, the researchers proceeded through
the core interview protocol. The researchers would ask questions in English as the
interpreter translated into Vietnamese, with core questions being read from the translated
interview protocol, and follow up questions being translated in vivo. The interpreter then
summarised the participant’s response in English so the researchers could ask appropriate
follow-up questions. All interviews were digitally audio recorded with the consent of the
participants. Interviews typically lasted between 30 and 60 minutes, with professionals
tending to talk longer than parents or people with disabilities.
8 M. BOGENSCHUTZ ET AL.

Data Analysis
Before analysis began, audiorecordings were conceptually translated from Vietnamese to
English by the same interpreter who assisted the researchers in conducting the inter-
views. Randomly selected portions of each transcript were checked against the original
recordings by two additional bilingual individuals who worked independently in the audit
of the conceptual translation in order to assure the accuracy of the final English transla-
tions. No significant deviations from the original translations were noted. Rather than
translating word for word, we chose conceptual translation since it allows for the transfer
of ideas from one language to another in a way that retains overall meaning (Munday,
2012). The conceptually translated English transcripts became our texts for analysis.
The study adopted a hybrid thematic analysis method that combined inductive coding
followed by deductive template analysis. This method is suitable for the current study in
that it enables the researchers to delve deeply into qualitative interview data in combina-
tion with a theoretical framework (Fereday & Muir-Cochrane, 2006). The analysis was
conducted using NVivo 10 qualitative data analysis software (QSR International, 2012).
The first stage of analysis was an inductive thematic analysis following the guidance of
Braun and Clarke (2006), where two of the authors independently developed in-vivo codes
after comprehensive review of transcripts. The two researchers’ coding schemes were
compared and discussed with the input of a third member of the research team.
Discrepancies in coding were discussed and shared meaning was negotiated to the
satisfaction of the entire research team. Codes were then compiled into a set of core
themes in a collaborative process involving all of this study’s authors. A further round of
analysis compared the content of each theme against the original texts, leading to
refinement the thematic presentation. Finally, all members of the research team collabo-
rated to vet and finalise the coding scheme and thematic analysis.
In the second major phase of analysis, the authors used the eight guiding principles
from CRPD’s policy goals (UN Enable, 2007) as an a priori template to constellate and
organise emerging codes from the inductive thematic analysis. Emerging themes were
consolidated into the template through collective coding. The initial template with
accordant themes was contested throughout multiple thematic reconciliation meetings,
including conferencing with a disability expert in Vietnam (i.e. the fourth author). This
process allowed constant comparison between theoretical templates and actual experi-
ences of study participants and thus helped enhance both credibility and transferability of
the results (Tobin & Begley, 2004).

Results
This overview of results is organised around eight core guiding principles of the CRPD. The
guiding principles of the Convention served as a template for understanding the experi-
ences of people with disabilities at the time of Vietnam’s ratification of CRPD.

Respect for Inherent Dignity, Individual Autonomy, and Independence of Persons

The notion of personal dignity was closely tied to the ability of a person with a disability to
live independently, and independent living was often tied to the prospect for work.
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DISABILITY, DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATION 9

Opportunities for sustainable employment were characterised as relieving the duties of

caregivers in playing a prominent role in directing the lives of a household member with
a disability. The idea of establishing individual autonomy, separate from caregivers, was
suggested as the ability to stabilise one’s life through financial self-sufficiency, as was
noted by Parent 7, who stated, ‘We try to give him a stable life so that he can work for
himself and be independent because we parents cannot be with him all the time.’
Beyond economic self-sufficiency through productive work, the parents who informed
this study also sought to support the inherent dignity of their children in even more basic
ways. Encouraging relationships, education, and play with children without disabilities
was a common way for parents to promote dignity of a child with a disability. This was not
easy, however, as disability stigma had to be overcome before social relationships could
be built, as suggested by Parent 5, who said, ‘I say that [daughter’s name] has a name. If
other kids want to talk to her, call her name. Don’t call [the daughter’s name] her (a
derogatory term for disability)’ because it makes her feel sad.’
The data revealed that stigma is indeed a reality for people with disabilities in Vietnam.
Because stigma exists, Vietnamese society may prevent a person with a disability from
accessing opportunities that may potentially promote the basic right of dignity and
individual autonomy.

Non-discrimination
Participants in this study expressed a wide range of perspectives about discrimination
against people with disabilities in Vietnam. At a basic level, parents and professionals
reported that discrimination in education and employment is commonplace. For instance,
the administrator of a special school that has vocational training programmes for youth
with disabilities stated, ‘Once [students] are done studying and we want them to go out
and work, it is very hard. Employers do not recognise their efforts.’
Discrimination often permeated relationships as well. A number of parents suggested
that their children were singled out by peers due to their disabilities, making it hard to
make meaningful friendships. Such interpersonal discrimination seemed to be most acute
for individuals with intellectual impairments, as noted by a psychologist:

Especially when people hear that someone has a mental disability, they would immediately
have stigma against that person. So it would be hard for people with disability to feel good
about themselves and be themselves in society. It is a very serious issue in society.

While the majority of respondents suggested that Vietnam’s efforts at non-

discrimination were not adequate to address issues facing people with disabilities, there
were some exceptions. For instance, a case manager who worked for the Ward-level
government, in response to a question about whether discrimination exists, stated plainly,
‘No, I think there is almost none.’
There seemed to be a base awareness that an anti-discrimination law existed in
Vietnam, but even among District-level government officials, such as one individual
from the District Department of Health, knowledge about the implementation of those
laws was limited, suggesting that more public education about disability discrimination
may be necessary:
10 M. BOGENSCHUTZ ET AL.

I can only briefly talk about [the national anti-discrimination policy] as I read on the news-
paper . . . I don’t quite grasp the details of it. First of all, we have to respect them. It means that
we are not allowed to discriminate against them. Secondly, we have to give them the chance
to integrate into society.

Full and Effective Participation and Inclusion in Society

Full inclusion may be considered a broad category that encompasses the ways in which
a person with a disability participates in life where they live, work, learn, and play. From
the perspectives of this study’s participants, full inclusion remained an elusive goal.
Informants often suggested that integration was possible at a surface level, resembling
acceptance, but that deeper integration remained elusive. This struggle between basic
acceptance and full social inclusion was perhaps best illustrated by parents of children
with disabilities when they spoke about their children developing friendships and other
social relationships. Despite such challenges to social inclusion, many parents remained
determined to help their children with disabilities to find a presence in the community,
with the responsibility for building integration falling most directly on the parent and
child. Parent 6 described her efforts:

Because my daughter has a disability there are not many other kids who come and play with
her, so I just take her out and let her make friends herself. For normal kids, usually they stay
away from her, but I still want her to go to the public places.

The challenge of full participation was felt by professionals as well, particularly those
who worked in education. Teachers complained that their training did not prepare them
to include children with disabilities. There was a sense that special schools, where children
with disabilities are educated separately from kids without disabilities, were preferable to
integrated schools. When integration did occur, educators sometimes expressed frustra-
tions, as exemplified by a teacher at a regular school who noted, ‘Honestly speaking,
integration is good for [children with disabilities] in the sense that they can interact with
a lot of friends. But it is very hard for teachers in terms of teaching them.’
Such frustrations and feelings of under-preparation for managing integrated settings
left some professionals somewhat hopeless about the potential for full participation of
individuals with disabilities, especially in schools. Typical of such sentiments, a case
manager simply stated, ‘kids with disabilities cannot integrate and play like normal kids,
and should be sent to special schools.’

Respect for Disability as a Form of Diversity

The idea of disability as a unique set of factors that contributes to a dynamic and diverse
society was difficult to illustrate based on the perspectives shared by this study’s partici-
pants. In the Vietnamese context, it was common for individuals to express a desire for
people with disabilities to be treated as ‘normal people’, with little regard for the potential
for them to add something important to their communities through diversity. This
perspective that living like a ‘normal person’ should be the goal was among the most
pervasive themes in our analysis. As an example of this sentiment, an official from the
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DISABILITY, DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATION 11

District-level Department of Education said, ‘A good life for a person with a disability
means that the life of the person is almost identical to that of a normal person.’
The self-advocates we interviewed approached the question of disability as diversity
differently from professionals or parents. Self-advocates tended to be more likely to suggest
that their disabilities were an integral part of who they were, and that they wanted to be
accepted as a person with a disability, rather than as someone striving to be ‘normal.’ Self-
advocate 1 exemplified this sentiment when he succinctly suggested, ‘Maybe getting to
know people with a disability is very important to understanding and accepting them.’

Equality of Opportunity
When asked whether people with disabilities have access to the same opportunities in
society as their peers without disabilities, the vast majority of participants suggested that
opportunity is more limited for people with disabilities. Frequently, participants men-
tioned a lack of opportunity for children with disabilities to go to school, adults with
disabilities to secure employment, and all people with disabilities to have meaningful
relationships. An official from a local Women’s Union provided an example of the lack of
opportunities facing individuals with disabilities when she said, ‘If the disability is severe,
they don’t have the capacity to have access to services and education for the child . . . it
affects their livelihood a lot.’
When participants discussed people with disabilities who had achieved success, it was
typically to point out individuals, rather than success of people with disabilities as a larger
group. For instance, the administrator of a private special school that educated many youth
with disabilities mentioned, ‘there are people with disabilities in Vietnam who are the owners
of businesses or the leaders of organisations.’ Other study participants noted particular
individuals with disabilities who they saw on television shows or in the newspaper as examples
to illustrate that opportunities for people with disabilities can exist in Vietnamese society.

Accessibility
Accessibility was most typically constructed by this study’s participants to refer to physical
accessibility for individuals with mobility impairments. Though Vietnam complies with the
CRPD’s principle of accessibility through its Law on People with Disabilities (2010), the
statements of participants suggest that implementation of barrier-free access was
inconsistent.
Parents often pointed to inaccessibility in schools that made it impossible for their
children with mobility impairments to participate. Since most schools in Da Nang are
multi-level, some parents reported that their children were not able to access all learning
spaces. This observation was echoed by an administrator from a school:
The school does not have enough special facilities to support them, such as for them to
ascend and descend stairs, sloping paths, or classrooms that do not have enough necessities
for them to walk around. Transportation is also a barrier.

Transportation was also noted as an important factor impacting accessibility of work-

places and schools for people with mobility impairments. Parents, who most often rely on
small motorbikes for transportation reported difficulty in transporting older children with
12 M. BOGENSCHUTZ ET AL.

mobility impairments, while taxis were deemed too expensive for many families and
public transit was not physically accessible.
Though the focus of accessibility discussions was on physical accessibility, some
concerns about creating attitudes to support access for people with disabilities were
also displayed by some participants. Parent 13, for instance, shared a story about when
the school refused to work with his daughter’s epilepsy: ‘When she was in school, she
started shaking and they were scared. Because the school has several floors, they were
afraid that she would fall down and the school could not bear the responsibility.’
For their part, teachers reported that they received little training to support accessible
learning for students with disabilities who were able to attend school. The teachers we
interviewed seemed to recognise their limitations in working with children with disabil-
ities, and wanted enhanced training to help them improve their methods. As conveyed by
one teacher in a regular school, for instance, ‘In terms of teaching, I need support in
educational tools that are more visual because I am currently teaching kids with
disabilities.’

Equality between Men and Women

Of the eight core principles of CRPD, as outlined in UN Enable (2007), participants
discussed equality between men and women the least. When the topic of gender did
arise, it was typically in the context of traditional gender norms dictating the primary role
of males as breadwinners and females as caregivers. Parents of boys with disabilities
frequently talked about their concerns that if their son could not work, it would affect his
potential to form a family and provide for them. Meanwhile, parents of daughters with
disabilities most often expressed worry that the severity of their daughter’s disability
would diminish marriageability and ability to care for the family’s elders.
Divergent gender norms were also apparent in how parents discussed their own roles
in caring for children with disabilities. In some cases, mothers were abandoned by a child’s
father, who felt shame at having a child with a disability. In more typical scenarios,
mothers felt they had to bear the greatest responsibility for raising a child with
a disability. Parent 11 shared her thoughts on the matter: ‘As a mother, I feel like I’m
stronger when I am talking about [her son with a disability]. His father is weaker, so it
should have been the other way around. But it’s like that in our family.’

Respect for Evolving Capacities

The notion that people with disabilities can grow and evolve over the lifespan was
somewhat controversial among this study’s participants. On one end of the spectrum,
a minority of participants expressed extreme scepticism that people with disabilities had
potential to gain capacity. This sentiment was exemplified by a case manager who stated,
‘Never mind those children whose disabilities are too severe. They really just can’t do
anything.’
The majority of participants were more moderate in their expectations for people with
disabilities to develop their capacities. Many saw potential for people with disabilities to
grow and evolve, though they were often measured in their expectations. For example,
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DISABILITY, DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATION 13

a teacher who trained other educators about how to work with children with disabilities
explained her approach:
I told them to broaden their perspective; every child has their destiny, but we should just
ignore it and take them to school since the teachers would have some methods to teach
them to be better than if they just stay at home.

Parents noticed the evolving capacities of their children with disabilities, often talking
with pride about particular achievements. It was not always easy for parents to promote
growth, however, as they noted that attitudes of others sometimes hold them back, as
illustrated by Parent 1, who said, ‘Other people keep thinking that my son can’t do things.
But then later on, he can.’

Discussion
The results of this study suggest areas of convergence and divergence between the core
principles of the CRPD (UN Enable, 2007) and the current experience of people with
disabilities in Vietnam. Most often, however, a more nuanced understanding emerged,
showing that, while Vietnamese society has begun to address the needs of people with
disabilities, full adherence to the CRPD’s core principles remains elusive.

Diversity vs. ‘Normal’ Living

One of the greatest tensions in our analysis was between CRPD’s mandate to appreciate
disability as a form of diversity and the desire of the study’s stakeholders to see people
with disabilities as ‘normal’. It appeared that the overriding desire was to treat people with
disabilities as normal, in a manner similar to that proposed by Nirje (1969, 1970) in his
Normalisation Principle, which was highly influential in the United States and Europe in
the early years of the deinstitutionalisation movement.
From a social developmental perspective, it may be natural for Vietnam to ascribe to
ideals of normalisation, as supports and rights for people with disabilities are relatively
new. However, to construct people with disabilities as wanting to be normal is counter to
the CRPD’s rights-based principle that disability should be embraced as an important form
of human diversity. It also discounts the unique needs that many people with disabilities
have throughout their lives. In current Vietnamese society the family remains responsible
for providing care for a person with a disability indefinitely, and having a child with
a disability can produce both stigma (Ngo, Shin, Nhan, & Yang, 2012) and financial strain
(Minh et al., 2014). Thus, constructing disability as a form of diversity may help individuals
with disabilities and their advocates to position themselves as needing specialised sup-
ports to achieve full inclusion in Vietnamese society. To do so would not only strengthen
Vietnam’s compliance with the CRPD, but also promote the wellbeing of people with
disabilities and their families at a more individual/family level.

Cultural Context & CRPD

At times, the researchers found potential mismatch between the principles of CRPD and
elements of Vietnamese culture. For instance, United Nations Enable (2007) suggests the
14 M. BOGENSCHUTZ ET AL.

centrality of personal independence as an important value for people with disabilities, yet
participants often constructed successful living as a state of interdependence. Social roles
in Vietnam dictate that an adult should take care of ageing parents and that an adult
achieves much worth by providing for her or his family. Thus, the difference between
independence and interdependence of persons was salient in this analysis, which sug-
gested that people with disabilities and their supporters did not seek independence, but
rather interdependence aligned with cultural norms.
Likewise, equality between men and women was somewhat difficult to consider in this
analysis. Few participants spoke directly about gender equality, and most indicated very
different roles for men and women with disabilities. Success for men with disabilities was
often discussed as getting a well-paying job so a family could be supported, while success
for a woman was often considered to be marriage and motherhood. These gender roles
are similar to what may be expected in broader Vietnamese society (Shin et al., 2006).
These examples illustrate the importance of viewing principles of the CRPD in cultural
context and the potential dangers of not doing so. As Meekosha (2011) has argued, the global
North has largely dictated conceptualisations of disability, and those views have been
imposed upon people with disabilities in the Global South. Without a more nuanced view
of the interplay between universality of rights and cultural relativity, as proposed by
Bickenback (2009), the CRPD’s guidance may risk missing the value of cultural diversity it
purports to uphold.

Policy Context
While the central government of Vietnam has been responsible for adopting the CRPD, as
well as national laws such as the Law on People with Disabilities of 2010, much of the
responsibility for implementing such laws resides with local government, at the city,
district or commune level. In this study, professionals often had little knowledge of laws
ensuring rights of individuals with disabilities, suggesting that the policy adoption of the
central government has not been adequately implemented at local levels, where govern-
ment workers interface with individuals with disabilities.
In future practice, it may be useful to engage local officials directly in training pro-
grammes about the policy context for supporting people with disabilities, and to put into
place more robust strategies for implementation of the CRPD’s core elements at the local
level. From a top-down perspective, this could be achieved through government orders or
training programmes for key officers. From a bottom up perspective, enabling the creation
of organisations for individuals with disabilities to organise themselves and build awareness
of disability issues in their communities would be a powerful way to promote disability
rights that are stipulated in the CRPD and supported in the Law on People with Disabilities.

Limitations
As with any qualitative research, this study is constrained by a lack of generalisability
beyond the sample. While generalisability is not the goal of qualitative research, this
limitation does mean that the findings should not be interpreted as such. The goal of this
work is to illuminate the experiences and perspectives of the participants.
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DISABILITY, DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATION 15

The participants in this study were referred to the researchers from an organisation
that provides assistance to individuals with disabilities and their families. Thus, all of the
individuals who participated in the study had some experience with assistance, and their
experiences may be very different than those who have not received aid. Likewise, all
participants were from one urban area. Considering the cultural differences that exist
throughout Vietnam, it should not be assumed that the experiences of members of this
sample are entirely similar to families from larger cities in the north or south or individuals
from Vietnam’s vast rural areas.

Conclusion
Vietnam has made notable progress in strengthening the rights of persons with disabil-
ities in recent years, and ratification of the CRPD is part of that progress. Yet the ultimate
measure of progress for people with disabilities is how they perceive their prospects in
society and how they live their everyday lives. This study provided insights into the status
of people with disabilities in Vietnam, based on the core principles of the CRPD near the
time of Vietnam’s ratification of the treaty. Findings suggest that, while progress is being
made, there is still much room for improvement if people with disabilities are to achieve
full inclusion in Vietnamese society.

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

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