>> My Xuan’s celebrity prostitution ring indicted
>> Model, actress caught selling sex for $1,500
Le Duc Hien, Vice Head of the Department of Social Evil Prevention, told Tuoi Tre in an interview that the aforementioned suggestion is unadvisable for humanitarian reasons.
* Tuoi Tre: It is a reality that women who are arrested for prostitution have their names and hometown published, while the identification of their customers remains unknown. What do you think of this paradox?
Names and images of prostitutes and their clients will not be publicly announced in line with a decree under the national anti-prostitution program. However, anyone found offering prostitution services will be convicted of a criminal offense under existing Vietnamese laws.
In addition to the administrative fines, sex workers will be warned and educated by local authorities. If clients are civil servants or members of Vietnam Communist Party or armed forces, their names will be announced to their leaders, who are likely to reprimand them or punish them later.
* Tuoi Tre: Have any civil servants been punished by the decree?
The practical implementation of the regulations in Vietnam has proved ineffective so far. Hence, just a few civil servants have had their names revealed to their bosses.
In my opinion, if publishing the names of prostitutes’ clients can help curb prostitution, we should apply a pilot model.
* Tuoi Tre: As a senior official in the field of prostitution prevention, do you think publishing names of both prostitutes and clients is a must?
Some consequences should be accounted for in case of publishing their names. I think that is a big social problem that needs more discussions. In some countries in which prostitution is legal, politicians can lose their prestige, or even their career, if they are found in “red light” areas. Prostitution services offered out of the areas will be strictly punished by the local government. In Vietnam, the names of civil servants who are involved in prostitution are not publicly announced due to humanitarian reasons. That means the clients’ families would not necessarily be informed of their behaviors.
* Tuoi Tre: Is it time for Vietnam to legalize prostitution due to increasing supply and demand?
Legalizing prostitution is a complicated matter that may badly affect the country’s political institutions, laws, customs and practices, and apparatus of government.
Now, if the Vietnamese government were to give permission for the establishment of ‘red light’ areas, how would we manage them? The term “red light” is synonymous with social evils, human trafficking, criminals, and drug addicts. The problem is, do we have a good enough governmental apparatuses to manage them?
We know very well that despite having effective legal implementation tools, in several advanced countries where prostitution is legal the government admits that the establishment of ‘red light’ areas has hurt, because they cannot control them. In summary, it’s impossible for Vietnam to legalize prostitution now.