Women’s educational attainment and sexual coercion by intimate partners: ethnic differences in Vietnam

Vietnam, a lower-middle-income nation with a strong patriarchal influence in Southeast Asia, has experienced an increase in intimate partner sexual violence. Despite its ethnic diversity and varying socio-economic status, research addressing ethnic differences in intimate partner sexual abuse within the country remains scarce. This quantitative study utilized the most recent and nationally representative dataset from the Vietnam Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2020–2021 to explore the relationship between women’s educational attainment and sexual coercion by intimate partners, with a focus on ethnic differences in this relationship. The chi-square (χ²) test of independence was used for bivariate statistics, whereas a probit model with probability sampling weights was employed for multivariate analysis. The sample comprises 6,033 women of reproductive age. Findings reveal that women with upper secondary education (p < 0.05) and vocational/university education or higher (p < 0.01) are less likely to experience sexual coercion by intimate partners. Notably, women from Mong ethnicity households, women residing in the North Central, Central Coastal regions, and Central Highlands exhibit the highest likelihood of experiencing this issue (p < 0.01). Given the higher likelihood of intimate partner sexual coercion experienced by women in minority groups such as the Tay/Thai/Muong/Nung and Mong compared to the Kinh and Chinese/Hoa, prioritizing the enhancement of women’s education in these ethnic groups would be a crucial policy response to address this form of intimate partner violence.