English - CEDAW Southeast Asia

CEDAW and the Law:
Article 115 of the Labour Code on night work, overtime and rest breaks (see
Indicators 74-76);
Article 116 of the Labour Code on facilities relating to crèches and childcare centres
(see Indicators 74-76);
Provisions relating to the maternity regime (see Indicator 79).
There are no provisions for paternity leave for fathers to support or assist mothers in the
care of newborn babies. In several drafts of the Law on Gender Equality, paternity leave was
proposed. Views on it were divided. Some saw it as a good recommendation as it will create
an opportunity for men to exercise parenthood. Others saw it as subject to abuse as they
perceive that Vietnamese men will not take care of the newborn baby and will only use the
leave to take time off work. Nevertheless, it is recommended that paternity leave still be put in
place as this provides an enabling measure to urge men to share child-rearing responsibilities.
Recommendation: It is recommended that paternity leave be stipulated in law,
which should be available to male employees in both the public and private sectors.
The leave is to enable fathers to assist mothers in the care of newborn babies. Male
employees applying for such leave must notify the employer about the pregnancy and
the expected date of delivery. The number of days leave must also be stipulated in the
legislation, which should be a reasonable period to enable appropriate support for the
mother and care for the newborn baby.
Indicator 81
Indicator 82
Does the legislation provide sexual harassment protection from
employers and co-workers
Is there a definition of sexual harassment that includes a
comprehensive list of unwelcome acts
There are no provisions specifically prohibiting sexual harassment in the employment
setting. Hence, no definition of sexual harassment can be found in legal documents. General
provisions include:
Article 111 of the Labour Code, which prohibits employers from discriminatory
conduct towards female employees that degrades their dignity and honour;
Article 10 of the Law on Gender Equality, which prohibits GBV. Under international
standards, sexual harassment is considered a manifestation of GBV. 523 However, the
Law on Gender Equality provides no further elaboration on GBV;
238
Penal Code provisions on damage to human life, health, honour and dignity. 524
One of the very few mentions of sexual harassment in Vietnamese legal documents is
in Section 4 of the Decree No. 45/2005/ND-CP of April 6, 2005 Providing for the Sanctioning
of Administrative Violations in the Field of Health (Decree on Health Violations), which
penalizes as an administrative violation abusing the profession to commit acts of sexual
harassment against patients. This provision, though, does not apply to employer/employee
relations, nor is a definition of ‘sexual harassment’ provided to assist in understanding it.
523
GR 19, Paragraph 18
524
See, for example, Penal Code, Articles 104, 110, 121 and 122
Review of key legal documents and compliance with CEDAW