English - CEDAW Southeast Asia

CEDAW and the Law:
percent, of people living with HIV. Women and men living with AIDS amount to 16.23 percent
and 83.87 percent respectively. Deaths from AIDS up to 2006 was 15.12 percent women and
84.88 percent men. It is estimated that 2.54 percent of HIV-infection cases are female
commercial sex workers. Mother-to-Child Transmission (MTCT) accounts for 1.08 percent of
HIV-infection cases.
A higher figure of people living with HIV/AIDS was posted by MOH; that is, in 2003 there
were 215,000 people living with HIV/AIDS. 601 However, the MOH figure is consistent with the
previous figure in terms of the number men greatly outnumbering women living with HIV/AIDS
by a ration of 2.3 men to 1.0 women in 2003. It is surmised that, due to under-reporting and
incomplete surveillance methods, the actual number of HIV infections is likely to be much
higher.
The main form of HIV transmission is among injecting drug users. 602 The proportion of
reported people living with HIV due to sexual transmission is low. It is expected that sexual
contact will become the dominant mode of HIV transmission in Viet Nam in the coming years,
particularly as the use of condoms is not common. Of note is the prevalence of HIV/AIDS
among pregnant females seeking prenatal care, especially in the 15-24 age group. HIV/AIDS
infection rates among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics increased by more than 10
times in seven years, from 0.03 percent in 1995 to 0.39 percent in 2002. Areas on concern,
especially for women, include the: (a) general inability of women to negotiate safe sex thus
increasing the risk of infection; (b) increasing women’s burden as primary carers of people
living with HIV/AIDS; and (c) risk of infection from MTCT, which has implications for maternal
and child health care. The social stigma attached to HIV/AIDS exacerbates the situation of
people living with it and their carers. 603
Several laws address HIV/AIDS. The Law on Gender Equality provides: “Man and
woman are equal in choosing and deciding on contraceptive measures for safe sex and for
preventing and protecting against HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.” 604
Article 117 of the Penal Code penalizes those who know that they are infected with HIV and
intentionally spread the disease to other persons with one to three years imprisonment. Article
118 of the Penal Code punishes those other than Article 117 who spread the disease. Article
29 of the Law on Health provides that health-care establishments must provide medical
treatment for people living with AIDS or STIs, which constitute a public health risk. The
Resolution on Work for Women stated that special attention should be given to the areas of
population, family planning, health care, prevention and fight against diseases and HIV/AIDS.
266
The basic law on HIV/AIDS is the Law on HIV/AIDS, which provides as follows.
Elimination of stigma and discrimination
Article 3 of the Law on HIV/AIDS states as principles the: (a) elimination of stigma and
discrimination against people living with HIV and their family members; and (b) facilitation of
people living with HIV and their family members to participate in social activities, especially in
HIV/AIDS prevention and control.
601
Wells, op. cit., p. 42
602
Ibid.
603
Ibid, p. 34
604
Law on Gender Equality, Article 17(2)
Review of key legal documents and compliance with CEDAW