English - CEDAW Southeast Asia

CEDAW and the Law:
into whether the guarantees of equality and discrimination include discrimination on the basis of
sex or gender, as well as other grounds of discrimination such as ethnicity, disability, age, and
sexual orientation. This will enable a more inclusive and responsive guarantee to cover the different
disadvantages that women may face due to multiple grounds of discrimination.
Viet Nam guarantees of equality and non-discrimination on the basis of sex and gender in Articles
52 and 63 of the Constitution, and in legal documents such as the Article 5 of the Civil Code,
Article 8 of Civil Procedure Code, Article 5 of the Criminal Procedure Code, Article 5 of the Labour
Code, Article 2 of the Marriage and Family Law, and Article 3 of the Penal Code. Articles 5(3) and
5(5) of the Law on Gender Equality specifically provides a definition of both gender equality and
gender discrimination. Articles 10, 40 and 41 of the law also explicitly states that it prohibits acts
impeding the exercise of gender equality, gender discrimination in all its forms, and GBV.
Definition of gender equality and gender discrimination
The definition of gender equality and gender discrimination in the Law on Gender Equality,
although promising, can still benefit from some improvements. For consistency with CEDAW, the
definition of gender equality and gender discrimination must include and emphasize equal rights.
The definition of gender discrimination must also clearly state that discrimination can be direct or
indirect. A definition of indirect discrimination consistent with GR 25 is also recommended to be
included preferably in the law to aid implementation. It is also suggested that provisions guaranteeing
equality in legal documents other than the Law on Gender Equality must incorporate the
definition of gender equality and gender discrimination; for example, this can be done by supplementing
these laws with subordinate legal documents that contain a direct reference to the definitions
in the Law on Gender Equality.
Grounds of discrimination
2
In the general provisions that guarantee equality and non-discrimination in Vietnamese laws
(such as the Constitution and the Civil Code, Labour Code, Marriage and Family Law, and Penal
Code), it can also be seen that many other grounds of discrimination, in addition to sex or gender,
are recognized. These grounds include nationality, social status/class/position, belief, religion,
educational level and occupation, and family background. Special laws provide specific protection
to particular groups of people, such as the elderly, people with disabilities and people living
with HIV/AIDS. What is noticeable, though, is that these grounds of discrimination are seen
as separate from each other and are not always analysed or realized in an interconnected manner.
Legal documents do not provide a mechanism on ways to address other forms of disadvantage
in addition to gender in a systematic and simultaneous manner. On this note, it is suggested
that the Law on Gender Equality be supplemented to include a provision recognizing the interrelatedness
of grounds of discrimination. In particular, it should provide explicitly that other
grounds of discrimination - such as nationality, religion, belief, age, disability, sexual orientation,
and social, economic, health and other status - may aggravate or compound gender discrimination.
Hence, they must be addressed with gender discrimination in an interconnected manner.
It is also suggested that provisions in other laws must explicitly include non-discrimination
on account of gender; for example, an explicit guarantee in the Ordinance on Elderly, Ordinance
on Disabled Persons and Law on HIV/AIDS that discrimination on the basis of gender is one way
to ensure that gender equality is not ignored and forms part of the application and monitoring of
Executive summary