Child
sex tourism is not mentioned specifically in Vietnamese legislation, but there
are fears that it could be growing as the nation makes big advances in
attracting holiday makers - and as Vietnamese themselves move more and more
around the country.
Legal expert Le Thi Hoa from the Justice
Ministry's Department of Criminal and Administrative Laws said that existing
regulations in the penal code, child care, protection and education, anti-human
trafficking and prostitution seemed to cover this kind of crime.
However, she said there was a need for a legal
framework directly targeting the crimes.
Child sex tourism is described as the sexual
exploitation of children by a person or persons who have sexual contact with
children.
Offenders can be domestic travellers or
international tourists. Child sex tourism often involves the use of
accommodation, transportation and other tourism-related services that
facilitate contact with children and enable the perpetrator to remain fairly
inconspicuous.
Figures from the Public Security Ministry show
that in the last three years, more than 4,350 crimes were recorded as being
committed against children.
They involved child abuse, child labour,
domestic violence, but 61 per cent involved sexual crimes against children.
Senior Lieutenant-Colonel Nguyen Van Trang
from the ministry's Criminal Police Department said that crimes against
children were increasing as family members including fathers, stepfathers and
brothers became involved.
Only a few cases of sexual crimes against
children committed by travelling offenders were reported each year, most were
committed by foreign tourists, businesspeople and even English teachers. This
may be the tip of the iceberg, authorities say.
Trang mentioned a child rape case in southern
Vung Tau City in 2006. Gary Glitter, an English rock singer, was arrested for
having intercourse and committing indecent acts against girls in the city, one
as young as 12. The singer was sentenced to three years' imprisonment by Ba
Ria-Vung Tau Province Court.
Trang said school dropouts and street
children, especially those in big tourist cities such as Vung Tau, Nha Trang,
Ha Noi and Hai Phong were vulnerable to sex offenders.
However, he said that data on child sex crimes
was not properly updated or analysed, especially offences committed by
travelling offenders - either Vietnamese or foreigners.
"Due to fear of stigmatisation and
negative impacts on a victim's future, their family are reluctant to report
cases, making it hard to detect or investigate," Trang said.
Lindsay Buckingham, a legal consultant for the
United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC), said Viet Nam's legal
framework provided protection for children from sexual exploitation and
criminal conduct and upheld their rights as victims and witnesses.
"However, when compared with
international standards, there are gaps in the current domestic legal framework
relevant to child sex tourism," she said.
Buckingham said when a country cracked down on
child sexual exploitation, foreign offenders were likely to move their
activities to neighbouring countries with looser laws. This called for a
regional approach to the problem.
In a just completed two-day workshop titled A
Legal Framework for Combatting Child Sex Tourism held by the Ministry of
Justice and UNODC, the first discussion on child sex tourism in Viet Nam was
introduced.
It is part of a four-year project called
Project Childhood, introduced last year by UNODC, Interpol and World Vision in
Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Viet Nam, to combat the sexual exploitation of
children, particularly in the tourism sector.
Project co-ordinator Margaret Akullo said
legal responses against child sex offenders must become a more important
element in reversing child trafficking, abuse and sexual exploitation.
UNODC will provide technical assistance to law
enforcement agencies in conducting investigations, Interpol will bring together
international, national and regional investigative resources to target
travelling child sex offenders.
The US$7.5 million project has been funded by
the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID).
News Desk
Viet Nam News
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