Culture and Law: The Case of the Law on Domestic Violence Prevention and Control in Rural Vietnam

[[abstract]]本研究探討文化與法律之間的關係，以越南家庭暴力防治法為例探究越南傳統文化價值對該國法律實施過程的影響。包含探究文化價值在專責單位處理家庭暴力案例過程的影響，以及更重要的是呈現與分析現行法律下，受害者對家庭暴力的反應。 有研究表示，越南傳統文化觀念，尤其對性別刻板印象中性別的個性的觀念合理化婚姻關係中發生的暴力（Rydstr?m 2003）; 性別不平等和酗酒是暴力的來源（Gardbane，2010; Savarese等，2001）。目前越南國內對家庭暴力的研究通常忽略法律與文化之間的互動，這些研究主要是為了強化或是重建政府政策框架與社會福利，而不是產生學術論述（Scott and Truong, 2007）。 藉由上述文獻的啟發，本研究將指出越南傳統文化與法律實踐之間的關係。自從越南於1986年進行改革開放，該國的性別文化在都市與農村地區有了明顯的差別 （Lee Mei Hsien, 2006）。這複雜的背景使得分析文化、法律與人三者之間的關係更加困難。因此，本研究將重點置於農村地區，並於越南三個不同地區：北部、中部與南部進行訪談。 本研究結果顯示：1）越南人民對家庭暴力防治法的理解並不充分，這一部分原因是由於過去的法律對人民的法律意識長期影響的結果。當地文化與法律之間的關係對人民如何看待家庭暴力與人民法律意識的塑造扮演了重要的角色；2）被合理化的暴力：傳統文化可以「無受害化」受害者，並「無罪化」家暴者，甚至使受害者變成「做錯事的人」；3）越南傳統文化中有四個要素直接影響到人民對家暴的反應：面子（face）、家庭（family）、雙重原則（dual principle - 保密與忍受）、以及情義。這四個因素中，面子、家庭、情義扮演著關鍵的角色，它們塑造三種解決家庭暴力事件的方式；雙重原則則在上述三個因素的框架中影響受害者的抉擇。4）當一個內在受傷的自我，面對來自外在世界的負面評論時，會導致受害者的雙方面自我保護：a）受害者可能會有意的嘗試透過無傷大雅的謊言來隱瞞自己的狀態，使自己不再承受內心的痛苦；b）受害者可能會滿足家暴者的要求以避免其他的損害。[[abstract]]This research explores the relationship between culture and law, studying how traditional cultural values exert their effects over the process of legal implementation in Vietnam – the case of the Law on Domestic Violence Prevention and Control. This is achieved by examining the details of how cultural values affect the settling of domestic violence by specialized agencies and, more importantly, how the victims react to violence in connection with the existing law. Studies on domestic violence in Vietnam, in terms of the violence that occurs within a conjugal relationship, have revealed that concepts of personality can legitimate violence (Rydstr?m 2003); with gender inequality and alcoholism being sources of violence (Gardbane, 2010, Savarese et al., 2001). Other studies skip over the interactions between law and culture, with regard to domestic violence. They primarily serve to strengthen efforts to re-establish the policy framework and social welfare to deal with domestic violence, rather than generate academic discourse (Scott and Truong, 2007). Stimulated by these studies, this work points out the gap between law and culture in regards to domestic violence. There has been a difference of the change of gender culture between rural and urban areas since Vietnam started its national reforms in 1986 (Lee Mei Hsien, 2006). This has made it difficult to analyze how culture retains links with law and people within these complex contexts. Hence, the focus of this study will be on rural areas. The interviews were conducted in locations selected from three different areas – northern, central, and southern Vietnam. The results of this study revealed that: 1) There was an insufficient legal consciousness, and this was partly a consequence of the long-lasting effects of ancient codes; the relationship between local culture and laws played an important role in shaping how people perceived family abuse; 2) Legitimate violence: culture can devictimize victims of family abuse and absolve abusers of responsibility for their actions, culture sometimes makes the victim become the one who was doing wrong; 3) There are four Vietnamese traditional factors that directly affect the way in which people respond to domestic violence: Th? di?n (face), gia ??nh (family), the dual principle (to keep secret – to endure), and t?nh ngh?a (a familiar concept with sentimental overtones). Among the four factors, th? di?n, gia ??nh and t?nh ngh?a played the key role, shaping the approach to solving domestic violence cases, while the dual principle worked within the framework made by these two key factors. This, three approaches to dealing with domestic violence were created: one shaped by gia ??nh, one shaped by th? di?n, and one shaped by t?nh ngh?a; 4) The inner-injured-self, combined with negative assertions from others will lead to the formation of a two dimensional self-defense in victims: a) victims might try to conceal their situations by purposively telling white lies to protect themselves from inner pains; b) victims might satisfy abusers’ demands in order to prevent further damage.[[note]]碩