Prostitution in Vietnam

Prostitution in Vietnam is illegal and considered a serious crime. The government has estimated that between 30,000 people in the country are prostitutes, although another estimate puts the number at between 20,000 and 25,000 individuals.

Prostitution is illegal and considered a serious crime in Vietnam, and enforcement by the government is strict. Procuring is also illegal. Some prostitution operates covertly through hotels and guest houses. There are no accurate data about the number of prostitutes operating within the country; according to the government, there are 30,000 Vietnamese prostitutes, although some non-governmental organizations estimate a number closer to 25,000. This is most likely due to the fact that some women are not full-time prostitutes, or are being exploited as unwilling prostitutes in a global trade. Other women feel compelled to work as prostitutes because they have few job prospects. There are fewer reports of the family having played a role in the decision, or lack thereof, to become a prostitute. The penalties for prostitution became less severe in 2013, although it remains illegal.

A Viet Cong town with prostitutes was captured by South Vietnamese troops and American troops in 1964.

In Ho Chi Minh City, many of the prostitutes are under 18 years of age, some forced into the trade because of economic needs. The prostitutes are both girls and boys (called Trai bao ("covered boy") and trai gọi ("call boy")). Additionally, children are trafficked due for the need for prostitution in other countries. One non-governmental organization estimates that the average age of trafficked girls is between 15 and 17, although the average age of girls trafficked to Cambodia is estimated to be much lower. In the Sapa tourist region, an Australian non-governmental organization uncovered 80 commercial cases of child exploitation by foreign nationals in 2007, the same year that the nation established a child sex tourism investigative unit within the Vietnam Ministry of Public Security.

Vietnamese prostitution is not necessarily confined to the country itself. In Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta, there are reports of women being forced into prostitution after marrying overseas, particularly in other Asian countries. In Macau, exploitation of women has been supported by legal organizations. In the end, these women were often forced into indentured servitude or prostitution. Many women travel from Lao Cai to Hekou County in China to work in brothels that cater mainly to Chinese men.

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Wikipedia