English - CEDAW Southeast Asia

A Gendered and Rights-Based Review of Vietnamese Legal Documents through the Lens of CEDAW
Rights of people living with HIV
Article 4 of the Law on HIV/AIDS enumerates the rights of people living with HIV including :
(a) the right to live in integration with the community and society; (b) the right to enjoy medical
treatment and health care; (c) the right to have general education, learn jobs and work; (d) the
right to privacy related to HIV/AIDS; (e) the right to refuse medical examination and treatment
when having treatment for AIDS; and (f) other rights as provided for by the Law on HIV/AIDS
and other related laws. Article 4(a) of the law seeks to ensure that people living with HIV/AIDS
are free from stigma and discrimination.
State policies
Article 6 of the Law on HIV/AIDS provides for the State policies on HIV/AIDS prevention and
control, which include prevention and control of MTCT, rearing of babies aged less than six
months born to mothers living with HIV with substitute milk, and support for people living with
AIDS in particularly difficult circumstances.
Prohibited acts
Article 8 of the Law on HIV/AIDS list prohibited acts which include: (a) purposefully
transmitting, causing the transmission of, or threatening to transmit, HIV to another person; (b)
stigmatizing and discriminating against people living with HIV; (c) abandoning minor children
living with HIV by parents or guardians; (d) publicizing the name, address and image of a
person living with HIV, or disclosing information that a person is living with HIV to another,
without consent of the person; (d) falsely reporting that a person is living with HIV; (e) forcing
HIV testing; and (f) refusing to provide medical examination or treatment to a person knowing
or suspecting that the person is living with HIV.
Information, education and communication
Article 9 of the Law on HIV/AIDS states that information, education and communication on
HIV/AIDS prevention and control will aim at raising awareness, changing attitude and
behavior, and fighting stigmatization and discrimination against people living with HIV. It also
states that the information, education and communication must: (a) be accurate, clear, simple,
practical and relevant; (b) take into account the education level, age, gender and traditions,
culture, ethnic identity, religion, social morals, beliefs and customs of the targeted audience;
and (c) be non-discriminatory, respect gender equality, and not use negative information on or
images of people living with HIV.
Article 11 of the Law on HIV/AIDS provides that everyone has the right to have access
to information, education and communication on HIV/AIDS prevention and control. Priority in
this area must be given to: (a) people living with HIV and their family members; (b) drug users;
(c) commercial sex workers; (d) people who have STIs; (e) homosexual people; (f) mobile
population groups; (g) pregnant women; (h) people living in remote and mountainous regions
or areas with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions.
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Family and HIV/AIDS
Article 13 of the Law on HIV/AIDS states that voluntary HIV testing is encouraged for those
who are getting married or having a baby and for pregnant women. It also provides that
families of people living with HIV must be responsible for rearing, caring and providing moral
support to people living with HIV.
Health (Article 12 of CEDAW)