Sex trafficking in Vietnam

Vietnamese citizens and foreign victims are sex trafficked into and out of the Provinces of Vietnam. They are raped and physically and psychologically harmed in brothels, businesses, homes, hotel rooms, and other locations within these administrative divisions.

Sex trafficking in Vietnam is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation and slavery that occurs in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Vietnam is a source and, to a lesser extent, destination country for sexually trafficked persons.[1]

Sex trafficking victims in the country are from all ethnic groups in Vietnam and foreigners. Vietnamese citizens, primarily women and girls, have been sex trafficked into other countries in Asia and different continents.[2] [3] They are forced into prostitution, marriages, and or pregnancies.[4][5] Victims are threatened[5][6][7][8] and physically and psychologically harmed.[9] They contract sexually transmitted diseases from rapes, and abuse[10][11][2] and malnutrition are common. Some women and girls are tortured and or murdered.

Sex trafficking and exploitation have pervaded all levels of Vietnamese society. Male and female perpetrators in Vietnam come from a wide range of backgrounds and a number are members of or facilitated by organized crime syndicates and gangs.[4][5] [12] Some government officials, troops, and police, as well as foreigners, have been complicit in sex trafficking in Vietnam.

The extent of sex trafficking in Vietnam is unknown because of the lack of data, the underground nature of sex trafficking crimes, inadequate victim identification procedures, and other elements. [13] The enforcement of sex trafficking laws and investigating and prosecuting of cases have been hindered by corruption, apathy, border management problems, lack of cooperation among sectors, ignorance of anti-trafficking law, and more.[14][13] Globalization and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’(ASEAN) shift towards a formal community with freer movement of trade and capital may lead to an increase sex trafficking.[15][16]

  1. ^ "VIET NAM - UN ACT". UN-ACT. Archived from the original on 2018-06-01.
  2. ^ a b "Vietnamese Women Fall Prey to Sex Racket". Radio Free Asia. March 8, 2013.
  3. ^ "Precarious journeys of Vietnamese children trafficked to Europe". Anti-slavery International. March 7, 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Women, children and babies: human trafficking to China is on the rise". Asia News. July 11, 2019.
  5. ^ a b c "Vietnam's Human Trafficking Problem Is Too Big to Ignore". The Diplomat. November 8, 2019.
  6. ^ "Raped, beaten and sold in China: Vietnam's kidnapped young brides". Channel News Asia. August 3, 2019.
  7. ^ "Vietnamese teen's escape from the China trafficking trade that sold her mother". ABC News. September 18, 2018.
  8. ^ "Sex trafficking ring busted, Vietnamese women rescued". Focus Taiwan. November 18, 2019.
  9. ^ "Sold, raped, enslaved: Human trafficking victims shared stories in 2019". VnExpress. December 24, 2019.
  10. ^ "Vietnam's "modern sex slaves" sold in China as prostitutes or brides". Asia News. February 3, 2015.
  11. ^ "Vietnamese Trafficking Victim Reveals Heartbreaking Ordeal". VOA News. September 24, 2015.
  12. ^ "Dangerous journeys: tackling Vietnamese trafficking". Anti-slavery International. September 5, 2018.
  13. ^ a b "Human trafficking remains a headache in Vietnam and Southeast Asia". Hanoi Times. June 22, 2018.
  14. ^ "Human trafficking on rise in Vietnam, says government". Anadolu Agency. July 1, 2017.
  15. ^ "Trafficking of Vietnamese women for sex and marriage expands across region: expert". Reuters. May 18, 2016.
  16. ^ "Trafficking of Vietnamese women for sex and marriage expands across region - expert". Thomson Reuters Foundation News. May 18, 2016.