It is important to note that a country`s laws often do not paint an accurate picture of the extent of prostitution in that country. The 1987 film Full Metal Jacket shows scenes in which prostitution is depicted with the soldiers. In one scene, Private Joker (Matthew Modine) and Private Rafterman (Kevyn Major Howard) are approached by a Da Nang (Papillon so). One of the scenes takes place during a pause between battles: apart from the depiction of female sex work in The Tale of Kiều, scholars have barely mentioned the subject in other documents and texts from the Đại Việt period of Vietnamese history. This gap suggests that sex work, even if it existed, was treated ambiguously by the leaders of the Đại Việt. [9] For example, the Code of Law, promulgated in 1812 by Emperor Gia Long of the Nguyễn Dynasty, Vietnam`s best-known pre-colonial legal document, does not contain an explicit prohibition on sex work, but it does include a provision to punish male court officials who visit ả đào singing houses, which have the reputation of being historical sites of female sex work combined with courteous entertainment. [9] According to Khuat Thu Hong (1998), archival documents indicate that in Hanoi alone, in 1954, there were about 12,000 professional prostitutes working in 45 brothels and 55 cabaret houses, of which more than 6,000 were licensed. After 1954, prostitution was theoretically abolished in North Vietnam. Article 202 of the Criminal Code stipulates that any shelter, temptation or incitement of prostitutes is an illegal act and that the penalty varies according to the degree of violation. Nevertheless, each year, about 300 to 400 people were discovered working in this trade. [Source: Encyclopedia of Sexuality */ ] A survey of 150 prostitutes by the Vietnamese government`s Institute of Labour Sciences and Social Affairs found that 44 percent of prostitutes had experienced violence from clients.
[3] Nearly half do not report crimes to authorities. The Vietnam Network of Sex Workers called for decriminalization to make sex work safer. [3] Kimberly Kay Hoang, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Chicago who conducted a 2011 study on prostitutes in Ho Chi Minh City, was quoted as saying: “Legalizing prostitution would also reduce violence and sexual crimes such as rape and sexual violence. Prostitutes would feel safe calling the police to report cases of violence and abuse by clients, traffickers and pimps to law enforcement. Mr. Le Duc Hien, deputy director of a government department responsible for combating social ills under the Ministry of Labour, crystallized this by telling the media: “It would be a strategic mistake to exploit prostitution as an industry to increase tourism revenues. What would happen if we recognized sex work as a profession, but did not succeed in doing so later? [3] A 1995 report by the Save the Children Fund (SCF) estimated that there were 149 brothels in Ho Chi Minh City alone. Many establishments are officially bars selling beer to Vietnamese customers.
According to a recent unofficial estimate (Khuat Thu Hong 1998), there could be half a million sex workers throughout Vietnam, not counting the growing number of male prostitutes in the southern provinces and major northern cities. Government resolutions 53, 87 and 88, adopted in 1994 and 1995, strengthen the management of cultural activities and oversee the fight against social ills, including prostitution, gambling and drug use. “Vietnam still lacks the highest political will to legalize prostitution,” said Khuat Thi Hai Oanh, who founded and directs the Center for Supporting Community Development Initiatives, an advocacy group that aims to improve the quality of life of the country`s most marginalized populations. “Perhaps because such a move carries too many political risks that would overshadow the potential gains for the authorities,” Oanh said. In April 2003, Reuters reported: “Vietnamese prostitutes trying to lure customers to the resort town of China Beach have taken English classes to improve their chances, state media said. At least three English classes have opened unofficially in the city, with teachers teaching phrases such as “One hundred dollars,” “I want to be your wife” and “Give me your watch,” the Nguoi Lao Dong (Worker) newspaper reported. Officials at the city, a former playground for U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War, could not be reached for comment. The newspaper said an unidentified teacher received $52 a month from her students. A woman in one of the classes said many had wanted to learn English in their profession for a long time. “Often we had a client, a stranger, but we were so embarrassed that we didn`t know what to say to attract them,” she said.
Prostitution is illegal in communist Vietnam, which has recently cracked down again, including harsher penalties for state employees who break the law. [Source: Reuters, April 19, 2003] For a more complete picture of the world`s countries and each of their legal positions on prostitution, see the table below. Trieu Huy Tao, an official from the central province of Thanh Hoa, said prostitution exists “whether you recognize it or not.” He added that various agencies have struggled in vain with prostitution for years. Although prostitution has been legalized in about 70 countries around the world, according to the United Nations Development Programme, it is still frowned upon in most societies, although there are arguments proving that banning prostitution does not really prevent it. A 1997 survey in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City found that 70 to 80 per cent of patrons of bars and karaoke parlors suspected of prostitution were civil servants. [Source: Associated Press, September 6, 2002] Your private conversations may also result in legal action. The reasons why women become sex workers remain the same as during the Vietnam War and in other developing countries, where in rural areas there are few opportunities and low wages in open jobs for uneducated girls.