UNFPA Representative in Vietnam Naomi Kitahara (Photo: Internet) Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam develops a sound legal framework to promotegender equality, according to NaomiKitahara, UNFPA Representative in Vietnam.
The United NationsPopulation Fund (UNFPA) representative recently granted Vietnam Law & LegalForum magazine an interview on the results achieved in Vietnam’s genderequality work as well as things that should be improved in the future.
The following is the full text of the interview.
In 2006, the first-ever Law onGender Equality of Vietnam was enacted with a view to mandating governmentalagencies to fulfill their responsibilities for gender equality and laying alegal foundation for the handling of violations in the field of genderequality. Since then, the country has also adopted several other policies andmeasures, including the National Strategy on Gender Equality 2011-20, theAction Plans on Gender Equality 2011-15 and 2016-20, and other legislationdefining the responsibilities for the implementation of the Law. How do youassess the results achieved after 10 years’ implementing the Law on GenderEquality in Vietnam, and what are their impacts on the country’s genderequality work?
By enacting the gender equality law, Vietnam has developedthe sound legal framework to promote gender equality, along with the approvalof other key documents such as Decrees, Circulars, the National Strategy onGender Equality for the 2010-20 period, and other sectoral programmes. Thesedocuments have paved the way for and leveraged gender equality work, andcreated an enabling environment for all interested stakeholders to join theefforts to promote gender equality in various sectors and in a multi-sectoralmanner.
As a result, the role and position of women in society havebeen improved and strengthened, in particular with regard to the number ofwomen appointed in management positions. For instance, for the first time ever,Vietnam has a female leader appointed for the highest legislative organisation- the National Assembly, Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.
Overall, the Government of Vietnam has made good progress inwomen empowerment and gender equality, which created equal opportunities forboth men and women. So far, statistics showed that 92 percent of Vietnamesewomen were literate. Eighty percent of girls in remote mountainous regionsattend schools. Girls account for more than 50 percent of Vietnamese students,30 percent of Master degree holders and 17 percent of Ph.D degrees. Thesefigures have in some way shown a gap being narrowed in promotion for genderequality. Vietnam has fulfilled several goals set out in the National Strategyon Gender Equality until 2020, particularly those involving economics andemployment, which contributed to the country’s efforts to realize SustainableDevelopment Goals by 2030.
Fully aware of theimportance of gender equality in social progress and development, Vietnam hasbecome a signatory to numerous international agreements and treaties on genderequality, women’s rights and women’s empowerment and is therefore obliged toincorporate these international instruments into the country’s domesticlegislation. In your opinion, does Vietnam’s Law on Gender Equality completelyconsist with international human rights standards and if not, what are theinconsistencies?
In principle, the Law on Gender Equality is consistent withthe international human rights standards.
In terms of consistency, the Law is consistent with substantiveequality. Political representation provisions are consistent with internationalstandards. The Law has considered multiple and intersecting forms ofdiscrimination against women in certain situations, namely rural women ineconomically disadvantaged conditions and ethnic minority women. It alsoconsiders special measures to promote women’s equality in consistency with theConvention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) as theseinitiatives seek to ensure that women could enjoy substantive equality (similaroutcomes) as men do. The Law is also consistent with awareness raising(information, education, and communication) obligations in CEDAW.
However, there are some provisions of the Law on GenderEquality that are not fully consistent with CEDAW or other treaties (whichVietnam has adopted). These are certain weaknesses or challenges and genderequality issues could be further strengthened through the Law or otherlegislation. There are also certain omissions that limit progress on genderequality that could be realized by the Law and the overall legal framework. Forexample, the Law has not yet considered indirect discrimination. Gender isstill restricted to male and female category. Gender identity is not yet addressedin the Law. Additionally, harmful practices are not yet identified as expectedin CEDAW and the UN Sustainable Development Goals’ Indicator 5.3 regardingprohibited acts, including gender-based violence, are not clearly defined andsanctions are not yet applied.
According to the 2006 Lawon Gender Equality, integration of gender equality in the process offormulating legal documents is a measure to achieve gender equality goals. So,whether Vietnam has managed to integrate gender issues in its policies and lawsand are there any gaps between the Law on Gender Equality and other legaldocuments currently in force in Vietnam?
Integration of gender equality in formulating legal documentsis mentioned in the Law on Gender Equality and the 2015 Law on Laws.
Under the Law on Gender Equality, it is a compulsoryrequirement for all submitted draft laws/ordinances to mainstream gender. The2015 Law on Laws gave a provision that the integration of gender equality intothe draft law shall be appraised by the Ministry of Justice, and reviewed bythe National Assembly Committee on Social Affairs if the legislation is relatedto gender equality. However, it is unclear on how to define when the draftlaw/ordinance ‘is related to gender equality’. This gap may allow policymakersand drafters to use gender-neutral language and ignore potential adverse genderimpacts.
In addition, there are gaps between the Law on GenderEquality and the Law on Laws in terms of gender mainstreaming in legislation.This might lead to the gaps between the Law on Gender Equality and other lawsas further analyzed below. While the Law on Laws does (in certain cases)require the People’s Council and the People’s Committee to conduct genderequality measure and gender impact assessment of proposed policies in a draftresolution or draft decision, the Law on Gender Equality does not. There is asignificant gap in the policymaking process at the national level given thatthe Law on Gender Equality only imposes the responsibility of gender mainstreaminginto draft legal normative documents.
In terms of other extremely gender-sensitive nationalpolicies such as socio-economic development plans, national highway, nationalrailway, national airport, national target programmes (poverty reduction programme,for instance), etc., there are no requirements of gender equality mainstreamingby relevant Laws, including the Law on Gender Equality, the Law on Organizationof the National Assembly, and the Law on Organisation of the Government.
There are still significant gaps between the Law on GenderEquality and current laws in Vietnam. In the family sector, the Law on Marriageand Family sets different age of marriage for men and women, stating men shouldbe 20 years of age and women 18 years of age. In the 2012 Labor Code andother employment-related laws, the retirement age is set at 55 years for womenand 60 years for men. The Labor Code as amended in 2019 by the NationalAssembly provides for the retirement age of 60 for women and 62 for men. Thedistinction between men and women would remain.
Similar to the 2012 Labor Code, the Law on Social Insurancein Articles 54 and 55 provides for different ages of male and female employeesas a condition for pension eligibility in a number of cases. In addition, thereis a difference in the amount annually added monthly to pensions for male andfemale employees in Article 56. An age difference provision between husband andwife also exists for his/her relatives to be entitled to a monthly survivorbenefit.
To advance gender equality from an early age, specialmeasures could be recognized for girls in the Law on Children in relation toaccess to health (including sexual and reproductive health) and education. Agender-neutral perspective in the Law on Persons with Disabilities masksdifferences based on sex and gender. Very few provisions in this Law aredesigned to address the barriers women and girls with disabilities face inaccess to education and employment opportunities, access to justice, access tosexual and reproductive health services, participation in political and publiclife, etc. The Law, in Article 5, does not provide for social support for womenwith disabilities, while it does to children and elderly persons withdisabilities.
A significant gap in the Law on Prevention and Control ofDomestic Violence is that it is formulated in a gender-neutral manner despitethe fact the most common type of domestic violence is violence against womencommitted by their husband or partner. The scope of the Law (domestic violenceof family member against another member) is inconsistent with internationalstandards of gender equality that focus on gender-based violence against women.
The laws related to political and public life, namely the Lawon Organization of the National Assembly and the Law on Organization of LocalAdministration, do not have sufficient measures to enhance women’sparticipation in decision-making bodies. For example, women’s participation inpermanent committees of the National Assembly (except the Committee on SocialAffairs). Similarly, political representation of women in People’s Councils andPeople’s Committees (and the commissions within both bodies) has not reachedthe expected outcome.
As the VietnameseGovernment is about to revise the Law on Gender Equality in the coming time,could you give some recommendations on how the Law in particular, and otherstate management policies in general, might be revised to further improvegender equality in Vietnam in the future?
I would like to congratulate the Government of Vietnam forits efforts to analyze any gaps in the current Law on Gender Equality andprovide subsequent adjustment. Considering the Law on Gender Equality alignmentwith international human rights standards and to advance the final goal ofgender equality, a number of issues could be considered.
In terms of revision of the Law on Gender Equality, firstly,the law should cover “any field” and should not be limited in eight sectors asat present. It should include other areas such as administration of justice,environment, defense and security, religion, and any other fields of life.
Secondly, the terminology should be defined and reviewed toensure consistency with CEDAW definitions. The definitions of gender, genderidentity, direct discrimination, indirect or adverse effect discrimination,gender-based violence, harassment, etc., were included and clearly defined inCEDAW’s General Recommendations.
Thirdly, information for indirect discrimination should berecognized and included in the Law on Gender Equality. The lack of technicalknowledge on equality and non-discrimination leads to the misconception thatgender-neutral policies, laws, and plans do not discriminate. If all forms ofdiscrimination were included in the law, including indirect or adverse effectdiscrimination, the regulation of gender-based discrimination would meet theinternational standards and, at the same time, help facilitate greater genderequality mainstreaming in gender-neutral policies and legislation.
Fourthly, prohibited acts should be defined and the sanctionsfor the prohibited acts should be clarified. At the same time, responsibilitiesrelated to complaints of gender-based discrimination should be defined. The Lawon Gender Equality should eliminate current overlaps in responsibilities ofstate management. For example, the Law on Prevention and Control of DomesticViolence gives to Ministry for Culture, Sports, and Tourism the power to dealwith domestic violence acts, while the Law on Gender Equality provides thatMinistry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs has authority on gender-basedviolence, whereas these two issues are interlinked and should be addressed atthe same time to avoid overlap and duplication. Similarly, the 2016 Law onChildren stipulates that Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs has thepower to deal with violent acts to girls that happened in the family while theMinistry of Health has similar authority over prenatal sex selection, kind ofgender-based violence, according to Decree 70 of 2008 guiding the Law on GenderEquality.
Fifthly, harmful acts resulting in gender inequality,including son preference, gender-biased sex selection, sexual harassment, andearly or forced marriage, should be defined in a decree amending or supersedingDecree 70 of 2008 once it is revised or replaced. Additionally, such a decreeand the Law on Laws should be consistent with regard to gender mainstreamingrequirements. Requirements for gender mainstreaming and gender impactassessment for other national policies and plans at the central level, as wellas for legal normative documents of local administrations, should also beincluded.
The implementation of decrees and circulars on statemanagement bodies related to budget allocations, gender mainstreaming, andhandling administrative violations of the Law on Gender Equality should also berevised. For example, level of monetary sanctions for violations of genderequality regulations should be increased and criminal or quasi-criminal for allgender-based discrimination and harmful acts such as sex-selective abortion andforced marriage shall be considered. Such revision will provide sound and firmlegal foundation for other laws to increase the sanctions for gender-baseddiscrimination and violations.
At the same time, other national laws should also considercertain revisions to address any gender gaps. Specifically, roles andresponsibilities related to gender-based domestic violence against women andgender-biased sex selection, both of which are manifestations of genderinequality, should be clarified. The Law on Marriage and Family should considerthe adjustment of the marriage age to be the same for women and men.Regulations of sectoral laws should consider reviewing the age of retirementand other age differences between men and women.
The laws and their implementing decrees should be reviewed toinclude and/or increase monetary sanctions for violations of gender equalityand consider criminal or administrative sanctions in a more comprehensivemanner for all gender-based discrimination and harmful acts. Some related lawsinclude the Penal Code, Labor Code, Law on Prevention and Control of DomesticViolence, and Law on Handling of Administrative Violations, etc.
A clear, strong provision on gender equality as a compulsoryprinciple of gender equality should be included in the Law on Organization ofthe National Assembly and the Law on Organization of Local Administration toensure gender equality mainstreaming occurring in the National Assembly and itsCommittees, People’s Councils and People’s Committees.
The policies on special measures for women who face multipleforms of discrimination such as female immigrants, disabled women, women inmountainous remote and difficult areas, and ethnic minority women, etc., shouldbe further developed.
The Law on Laws should be consistent with the Law on GenderEquality. Gender equality mainstreaming should act as a mandatory requirementof all laws, regardless of whether the law is focused on gender or not.
With the task of promotingthe right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equalopportunity, can you introduce other gender equality-related activities thatUNFPA Country Office in Vietnam has conducted so far?
UNFPA has supported Vietnam to end violence against women andharmful practices through various activities such as raising awareness,strengthening the policy system, and supporting services and data collection.
In terms of raising awareness on prevention and control ofviolence against women and girls, from 2012 to 2017, UNFPA had supportedMinistry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to conduct annual campaigns in responseto 16 days of activism in ending violence against women. With UNFPA support toMinistry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, the National Action Month onGender Equality and Prevention and Response to Gender-Based Violence wasorganized the first time in Vietnam in 2016, and continued to date. From 2016up to now, UNFPA has continually supported Ministry of Labor, Invalids SocialAffairs to conduct the campaign in response to the National Action Month withthousands of activities that reach millions of people nationwide.
At the same time, UNFPA also supported Vietnam to strengthenpolicies related to gender and gender-based violence. UNFPA has supportedMinistry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in the promulgation of the coordinationmechanism in domestic violence prevention and control, approved by the PrimeMinister. UNFPA has supported Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs todevelop the national thematic programme on gender-based violence prevention andresponse, 2016-20 and 2021-25 periods.
UNFPA has also supported Ministry of Health to developCircular 16 of 2009 and Circular 24 of 2017 (amending Circular 16) onreceiving, treating, collecting information and reporting on victims ofdomestic violence at health centers and for Ministry of Health’s decision onguidance on medical care and support for victims of sexual violence (Decision 3133of 2020).
In terms of data collection, UNFPA has supported Ministry ofLabor, Invalids and Social Affairs to review 10 years’ implementation of theLaw on Gender Equality, and the Law on Prevention and Control of DomesticViolence, and in collaboration with Ministry of Labor, Invalids and SocialAffairs and General Statistics Office, conducted two national studies onviolence against women, in 2010 and 2019.
At the same time, it has supported the Government, includingMinistry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs and local authorities, tostrengthen supporting the services system to gender-based violence survivors.Under recent KOICA-funded project, a one-stop crisis center in Quang Ninhprovince, namely Anh Duong House, is established to support gender-basedviolence survivors and enhance quality of the services. This center alsointegrates the results of UNFPA implementation of essential services packagesfor women and girls subject to violence against women in Vietnam./.
The United NationsPopulation Fund (UNFPA) representative recently granted Vietnam Law & LegalForum magazine an interview on the results achieved in Vietnam’s genderequality work as well as things that should be improved in the future.
The following is the full text of the interview.
In 2006, the first-ever Law onGender Equality of Vietnam was enacted with a view to mandating governmentalagencies to fulfill their responsibilities for gender equality and laying alegal foundation for the handling of violations in the field of genderequality. Since then, the country has also adopted several other policies andmeasures, including the National Strategy on Gender Equality 2011-20, theAction Plans on Gender Equality 2011-15 and 2016-20, and other legislationdefining the responsibilities for the implementation of the Law. How do youassess the results achieved after 10 years’ implementing the Law on GenderEquality in Vietnam, and what are their impacts on the country’s genderequality work?
By enacting the gender equality law, Vietnam has developedthe sound legal framework to promote gender equality, along with the approvalof other key documents such as Decrees, Circulars, the National Strategy onGender Equality for the 2010-20 period, and other sectoral programmes. Thesedocuments have paved the way for and leveraged gender equality work, andcreated an enabling environment for all interested stakeholders to join theefforts to promote gender equality in various sectors and in a multi-sectoralmanner.
As a result, the role and position of women in society havebeen improved and strengthened, in particular with regard to the number ofwomen appointed in management positions. For instance, for the first time ever,Vietnam has a female leader appointed for the highest legislative organisation- the National Assembly, Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.
Overall, the Government of Vietnam has made good progress inwomen empowerment and gender equality, which created equal opportunities forboth men and women. So far, statistics showed that 92 percent of Vietnamesewomen were literate. Eighty percent of girls in remote mountainous regionsattend schools. Girls account for more than 50 percent of Vietnamese students,30 percent of Master degree holders and 17 percent of Ph.D degrees. Thesefigures have in some way shown a gap being narrowed in promotion for genderequality. Vietnam has fulfilled several goals set out in the National Strategyon Gender Equality until 2020, particularly those involving economics andemployment, which contributed to the country’s efforts to realize SustainableDevelopment Goals by 2030.
Fully aware of theimportance of gender equality in social progress and development, Vietnam hasbecome a signatory to numerous international agreements and treaties on genderequality, women’s rights and women’s empowerment and is therefore obliged toincorporate these international instruments into the country’s domesticlegislation. In your opinion, does Vietnam’s Law on Gender Equality completelyconsist with international human rights standards and if not, what are theinconsistencies?
In principle, the Law on Gender Equality is consistent withthe international human rights standards.
In terms of consistency, the Law is consistent with substantiveequality. Political representation provisions are consistent with internationalstandards. The Law has considered multiple and intersecting forms ofdiscrimination against women in certain situations, namely rural women ineconomically disadvantaged conditions and ethnic minority women. It alsoconsiders special measures to promote women’s equality in consistency with theConvention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) as theseinitiatives seek to ensure that women could enjoy substantive equality (similaroutcomes) as men do. The Law is also consistent with awareness raising(information, education, and communication) obligations in CEDAW.
However, there are some provisions of the Law on GenderEquality that are not fully consistent with CEDAW or other treaties (whichVietnam has adopted). These are certain weaknesses or challenges and genderequality issues could be further strengthened through the Law or otherlegislation. There are also certain omissions that limit progress on genderequality that could be realized by the Law and the overall legal framework. Forexample, the Law has not yet considered indirect discrimination. Gender isstill restricted to male and female category. Gender identity is not yet addressedin the Law. Additionally, harmful practices are not yet identified as expectedin CEDAW and the UN Sustainable Development Goals’ Indicator 5.3 regardingprohibited acts, including gender-based violence, are not clearly defined andsanctions are not yet applied.
According to the 2006 Lawon Gender Equality, integration of gender equality in the process offormulating legal documents is a measure to achieve gender equality goals. So,whether Vietnam has managed to integrate gender issues in its policies and lawsand are there any gaps between the Law on Gender Equality and other legaldocuments currently in force in Vietnam?
Integration of gender equality in formulating legal documentsis mentioned in the Law on Gender Equality and the 2015 Law on Laws.
Under the Law on Gender Equality, it is a compulsoryrequirement for all submitted draft laws/ordinances to mainstream gender. The2015 Law on Laws gave a provision that the integration of gender equality intothe draft law shall be appraised by the Ministry of Justice, and reviewed bythe National Assembly Committee on Social Affairs if the legislation is relatedto gender equality. However, it is unclear on how to define when the draftlaw/ordinance ‘is related to gender equality’. This gap may allow policymakersand drafters to use gender-neutral language and ignore potential adverse genderimpacts.
In addition, there are gaps between the Law on GenderEquality and the Law on Laws in terms of gender mainstreaming in legislation.This might lead to the gaps between the Law on Gender Equality and other lawsas further analyzed below. While the Law on Laws does (in certain cases)require the People’s Council and the People’s Committee to conduct genderequality measure and gender impact assessment of proposed policies in a draftresolution or draft decision, the Law on Gender Equality does not. There is asignificant gap in the policymaking process at the national level given thatthe Law on Gender Equality only imposes the responsibility of gender mainstreaminginto draft legal normative documents.
In terms of other extremely gender-sensitive nationalpolicies such as socio-economic development plans, national highway, nationalrailway, national airport, national target programmes (poverty reduction programme,for instance), etc., there are no requirements of gender equality mainstreamingby relevant Laws, including the Law on Gender Equality, the Law on Organizationof the National Assembly, and the Law on Organisation of the Government.
There are still significant gaps between the Law on GenderEquality and current laws in Vietnam. In the family sector, the Law on Marriageand Family sets different age of marriage for men and women, stating men shouldbe 20 years of age and women 18 years of age. In the 2012 Labor Code andother employment-related laws, the retirement age is set at 55 years for womenand 60 years for men. The Labor Code as amended in 2019 by the NationalAssembly provides for the retirement age of 60 for women and 62 for men. Thedistinction between men and women would remain.
Similar to the 2012 Labor Code, the Law on Social Insurancein Articles 54 and 55 provides for different ages of male and female employeesas a condition for pension eligibility in a number of cases. In addition, thereis a difference in the amount annually added monthly to pensions for male andfemale employees in Article 56. An age difference provision between husband andwife also exists for his/her relatives to be entitled to a monthly survivorbenefit.
To advance gender equality from an early age, specialmeasures could be recognized for girls in the Law on Children in relation toaccess to health (including sexual and reproductive health) and education. Agender-neutral perspective in the Law on Persons with Disabilities masksdifferences based on sex and gender. Very few provisions in this Law aredesigned to address the barriers women and girls with disabilities face inaccess to education and employment opportunities, access to justice, access tosexual and reproductive health services, participation in political and publiclife, etc. The Law, in Article 5, does not provide for social support for womenwith disabilities, while it does to children and elderly persons withdisabilities.
A significant gap in the Law on Prevention and Control ofDomestic Violence is that it is formulated in a gender-neutral manner despitethe fact the most common type of domestic violence is violence against womencommitted by their husband or partner. The scope of the Law (domestic violenceof family member against another member) is inconsistent with internationalstandards of gender equality that focus on gender-based violence against women.
The laws related to political and public life, namely the Lawon Organization of the National Assembly and the Law on Organization of LocalAdministration, do not have sufficient measures to enhance women’sparticipation in decision-making bodies. For example, women’s participation inpermanent committees of the National Assembly (except the Committee on SocialAffairs). Similarly, political representation of women in People’s Councils andPeople’s Committees (and the commissions within both bodies) has not reachedthe expected outcome.
As the VietnameseGovernment is about to revise the Law on Gender Equality in the coming time,could you give some recommendations on how the Law in particular, and otherstate management policies in general, might be revised to further improvegender equality in Vietnam in the future?
I would like to congratulate the Government of Vietnam forits efforts to analyze any gaps in the current Law on Gender Equality andprovide subsequent adjustment. Considering the Law on Gender Equality alignmentwith international human rights standards and to advance the final goal ofgender equality, a number of issues could be considered.
In terms of revision of the Law on Gender Equality, firstly,the law should cover “any field” and should not be limited in eight sectors asat present. It should include other areas such as administration of justice,environment, defense and security, religion, and any other fields of life.
Secondly, the terminology should be defined and reviewed toensure consistency with CEDAW definitions. The definitions of gender, genderidentity, direct discrimination, indirect or adverse effect discrimination,gender-based violence, harassment, etc., were included and clearly defined inCEDAW’s General Recommendations.
Thirdly, information for indirect discrimination should berecognized and included in the Law on Gender Equality. The lack of technicalknowledge on equality and non-discrimination leads to the misconception thatgender-neutral policies, laws, and plans do not discriminate. If all forms ofdiscrimination were included in the law, including indirect or adverse effectdiscrimination, the regulation of gender-based discrimination would meet theinternational standards and, at the same time, help facilitate greater genderequality mainstreaming in gender-neutral policies and legislation.
Fourthly, prohibited acts should be defined and the sanctionsfor the prohibited acts should be clarified. At the same time, responsibilitiesrelated to complaints of gender-based discrimination should be defined. The Lawon Gender Equality should eliminate current overlaps in responsibilities ofstate management. For example, the Law on Prevention and Control of DomesticViolence gives to Ministry for Culture, Sports, and Tourism the power to dealwith domestic violence acts, while the Law on Gender Equality provides thatMinistry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs has authority on gender-basedviolence, whereas these two issues are interlinked and should be addressed atthe same time to avoid overlap and duplication. Similarly, the 2016 Law onChildren stipulates that Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs has thepower to deal with violent acts to girls that happened in the family while theMinistry of Health has similar authority over prenatal sex selection, kind ofgender-based violence, according to Decree 70 of 2008 guiding the Law on GenderEquality.
Fifthly, harmful acts resulting in gender inequality,including son preference, gender-biased sex selection, sexual harassment, andearly or forced marriage, should be defined in a decree amending or supersedingDecree 70 of 2008 once it is revised or replaced. Additionally, such a decreeand the Law on Laws should be consistent with regard to gender mainstreamingrequirements. Requirements for gender mainstreaming and gender impactassessment for other national policies and plans at the central level, as wellas for legal normative documents of local administrations, should also beincluded.
The implementation of decrees and circulars on statemanagement bodies related to budget allocations, gender mainstreaming, andhandling administrative violations of the Law on Gender Equality should also berevised. For example, level of monetary sanctions for violations of genderequality regulations should be increased and criminal or quasi-criminal for allgender-based discrimination and harmful acts such as sex-selective abortion andforced marriage shall be considered. Such revision will provide sound and firmlegal foundation for other laws to increase the sanctions for gender-baseddiscrimination and violations.
At the same time, other national laws should also considercertain revisions to address any gender gaps. Specifically, roles andresponsibilities related to gender-based domestic violence against women andgender-biased sex selection, both of which are manifestations of genderinequality, should be clarified. The Law on Marriage and Family should considerthe adjustment of the marriage age to be the same for women and men.Regulations of sectoral laws should consider reviewing the age of retirementand other age differences between men and women.
The laws and their implementing decrees should be reviewed toinclude and/or increase monetary sanctions for violations of gender equalityand consider criminal or administrative sanctions in a more comprehensivemanner for all gender-based discrimination and harmful acts. Some related lawsinclude the Penal Code, Labor Code, Law on Prevention and Control of DomesticViolence, and Law on Handling of Administrative Violations, etc.
A clear, strong provision on gender equality as a compulsoryprinciple of gender equality should be included in the Law on Organization ofthe National Assembly and the Law on Organization of Local Administration toensure gender equality mainstreaming occurring in the National Assembly and itsCommittees, People’s Councils and People’s Committees.
The policies on special measures for women who face multipleforms of discrimination such as female immigrants, disabled women, women inmountainous remote and difficult areas, and ethnic minority women, etc., shouldbe further developed.
The Law on Laws should be consistent with the Law on GenderEquality. Gender equality mainstreaming should act as a mandatory requirementof all laws, regardless of whether the law is focused on gender or not.
With the task of promotingthe right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equalopportunity, can you introduce other gender equality-related activities thatUNFPA Country Office in Vietnam has conducted so far?
UNFPA has supported Vietnam to end violence against women andharmful practices through various activities such as raising awareness,strengthening the policy system, and supporting services and data collection.
In terms of raising awareness on prevention and control ofviolence against women and girls, from 2012 to 2017, UNFPA had supportedMinistry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to conduct annual campaigns in responseto 16 days of activism in ending violence against women. With UNFPA support toMinistry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, the National Action Month onGender Equality and Prevention and Response to Gender-Based Violence wasorganized the first time in Vietnam in 2016, and continued to date. From 2016up to now, UNFPA has continually supported Ministry of Labor, Invalids SocialAffairs to conduct the campaign in response to the National Action Month withthousands of activities that reach millions of people nationwide.
At the same time, UNFPA also supported Vietnam to strengthenpolicies related to gender and gender-based violence. UNFPA has supportedMinistry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in the promulgation of the coordinationmechanism in domestic violence prevention and control, approved by the PrimeMinister. UNFPA has supported Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs todevelop the national thematic programme on gender-based violence prevention andresponse, 2016-20 and 2021-25 periods.
UNFPA has also supported Ministry of Health to developCircular 16 of 2009 and Circular 24 of 2017 (amending Circular 16) onreceiving, treating, collecting information and reporting on victims ofdomestic violence at health centers and for Ministry of Health’s decision onguidance on medical care and support for victims of sexual violence (Decision 3133of 2020).
In terms of data collection, UNFPA has supported Ministry ofLabor, Invalids and Social Affairs to review 10 years’ implementation of theLaw on Gender Equality, and the Law on Prevention and Control of DomesticViolence, and in collaboration with Ministry of Labor, Invalids and SocialAffairs and General Statistics Office, conducted two national studies onviolence against women, in 2010 and 2019.
At the same time, it has supported the Government, includingMinistry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs and local authorities, tostrengthen supporting the services system to gender-based violence survivors.Under recent KOICA-funded project, a one-stop crisis center in Quang Ninhprovince, namely Anh Duong House, is established to support gender-basedviolence survivors and enhance quality of the services. This center alsointegrates the results of UNFPA implementation of essential services packagesfor women and girls subject to violence against women in Vietnam./.
VNA
