Global Progress Towards Ending the Sexual Exploitation of Children
A global problem requires truly global solutions to address the sexual exploitation of children.
Indicators
Age of Consent
No
The age of sexual consent in 13 years, for both girls and boys. The national legislation does not provide for any close-in-age exemption.
DH Legal Analysis Vietnam, 2020
Extraterritoriality & Extradition
Partial
Active and passive extraterritoriality is provided for SEC-related offences. Double criminality is not applicable for extraterritoriality.
It is unclear whether extradition is applicable to SEC-related offences and whether it requires double criminality. Extradition of Vietnamese nationals may be refused.
ECO Vietnam, 2018
CSAM Definition
No
The national legislation does not provide a specific definition of CSAM.
DH Legal Analysis Vietnam, 2020
Background Check Required
Partial
There are no mandatory legal provisions for criminal background checks. Convicted sex offenders are prohibited from holding positions involving or facilitating contact with children. Moreover, persons who face any criminal prosecution or administrative penalties for acts of child abuse are prohibited from providing child protective services.
DH Legal Analysis Vietnam, 2020
National Commitments
No Data
Vietnam has ratified the CRC, the OPSC, the Trafficking Protocol and the ILO Convention No.182.
Vietnam has not ratified the OPIC, the UNWTO Framework Convention on Tourism Ethics nor the Council of Europe's Lanzarote and Budapest Conventions.
DH Legal Analysis Vietnam, 2020
Child Advocacy Centers
Not Yet Assessed
SEC Police Unit
Partial
There are two main police units including SEC in their mandate, the Anti-Human trafficking Crime Section for trafficking related offences and the Cyber Security and Cyber Crime Department within the Criminal Investigation Police department for offences related to online child sexual exploitation.
It is unclear whether both offences under national and extra-territorial jurisdiction are able to be addressed by these units, and whether the units are fully functional.
DH Desk-based Research Vietnam, 2020
Protection Standards Travel and Tourism
No
There are no child protection standards for the travel and tourism industry in place.
SECTT Legal Checklist ASEAN, 2020
Public SEC Case Data
No
Data on SEC cases is not publicly available.
ECO Vietnam, 2018
Age of Consent Law is Appropriate
The age of sexual consent for both males and females is 18 and a close in age exemption (up to 3 years) is provided for consensual sexual relationships between adolescents.
The age of sexual consent is the legally defined age at which a person is considered mature enough to agree to sexual activity. The age of sexual consent varies across jurisdictions around the world and there is no international legal instrument establishing it, however various forms of advocacy have encouraged States to establish a minimum age under which engaging in sexual contact is considered a criminal offence. This is intended to prevent sexual contact with children and to prevent argument that the child consented as a defence.
Often national provisions related to the age of sexual consent include an exception, known as a close-in-age exemption, making consensual sexual activities between young people lawful if the partners are of similar ages and the age difference is not higher than a certain number of years.
To ensure that cases of child sexual exploitation do not go unpunished, ECPAT advocates for the age of sexual consent to be set at 18 for both males and females with a close-in-age exemption of 2-3 years provided in order to ensure young people are not penalised for consensual sexual acts with peers. The age from which the exemption applies should be established by States but may begin for young people somewhere between 12 and 16 years of age.
Yes The national legislation explicitly indicates that the age of sexual consent unequivocally is 18 for both males and females, with a close-in-age exemption for sexual acts between peers (of up to 3 years) is provided by law.