Viet Nam Human Rights
Policies to ensure health, safety for sex workers discussed
19/9/16
A
policy dialogue on “Harm reduction in prostitution - safety, health and human
rights protection” was held in Hanoi on September 16th.
According to the International Labor
Organisation (ILO), Vietnam has around 161,000 businesses providing “sensitive”
services with hundreds of thousands of employees.
Workers at possible prostitution centres often
encounter with labor right violations such as working without labor contracts
and salary, being forced to drink wine and beer, or even suffering from
violence.
They also face a high risk of HIV and sexually
transmitted diseases, participants said, adding that good working conditions
and application of health safety measures will help reduce the risk.
Addressing violations in health and safety
should be included in the national program to minimise harms caused by
prostitution, the panels added.
Through the ratification of some ILO
conventions, the Vietnamese Government has pledged to protect all workers so
that they can work in a healthy, safe environment, ensuring no forced labor,
child labor and discrimination.
These are the fundamental rights of workers in
line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals theme of “leaving no one
behind”.
Since 2003, the guarantee of labor rights at
service businesses has been recognised by the Vietnamese Government and it is
also mentioned in the ordinance on prostitution prevention.
The national anti-prostitution program in
2016-2020 also underlines the protection of labor rights at “sensitive” service
businesses.
Participants discussed challenges in the field
and the role of social organisations in protecting those working in these
establishments.
They proposed the Party, State and Government
soon promulgate a law on anti-prostitution towards punishing businesses that
are unwilling to cooperate with competent agencies in reducing harms to and
ensure human rights for their employees.
It is essential to have policies to support
HIV/AIDS infected prostitutes to buy health insurance, they suggested.
The Ministry of Labor, War-Invalids and Social
Affairs need to review a pilot anti-prostitution model for nationwide
implementation and continue studying policies providing loans for prostitutes
to change jobs and integrate into the community./.
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All comments [ 10 ]
We have recorded many instances where police – as well as clients, and other members of the general public – have inflicted abuses against sex workers with impunity.
It says governments should protect, respect and fulfil the rights of sex workers.
It also calls for the decriminalization of sex work based on evidence that criminalization makes sex workers less safe, by preventing them from securing police protection and by providing impunity to abusers.
It does not mean the removal of laws that criminalize exploitation, human trafficking or violence against sex workers. These laws must remain and can and should be strengthened.
We use the term ‘sex work’ only for consensual exchanges between adults.
Our policy is not about protecting “pimps”. Anyone who abuses or exploits sex workers should face the full force of the law.
We do note, however, the very real problem with so called ‘pimping laws’—that they frequently harm sex workers themselves, rather than their abusers, because they are overly broad and not targeted enough.
Instead of the removal of laws criminalizing sex workers, legalization means the introduction of laws and policies specific to sex work to formally regulate it.
Amnesty is not opposed to legalization per se; but governments must make sure the system respects the human rights of sex workers.
Gender inequality can have a major influence on women’s entry into sex work; but criminalization does not address this—it just makes their lives less safe.
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