English - CEDAW Southeast Asia

A Gendered and Rights-Based Review of Vietnamese Legal Documents through the Lens of CEDAW
spouse/lover has a family history of physical or mental disability. In cases (i) to (iv), the
sex of the foetus must not be communicated; (d) a prohibition on publishing,
distributing, printing or communicating any advertisement regarding facilities for both
prenatal determination of sex or sex selection before conception; and (f) increasing
public awareness about the practice of pre-conception sex-selection and prenatal
determination of sex of the foetus leading to sex-selective abortions.
Indicator 91
Indicator 92
Is there legislation regulating family size
Is there legislation that guarantees the right to free and informed
choice and prohibition of coercion, intimidation or undue influence
in the use of contraceptives; for example, non-consensual
sterilization or free choices of contraception
In relation to these indicators, see Part V.13.3, Indicator 108 for an integrated
discussion.
Indicator 93
Is sexual harassment by health professionals prohibited
The Decree on Health Violations penalizes as a violation of professional and technical
regulations abusing the medical or health profession to commit acts of sexual harassment
against patients. 620 This provision, however, does not apply to employer/employee relations in
the medical field. The Decree on Health Violations also does not provide a definition of ‘sexual
harassment’ to assist in having a consistent understanding of sexual harassment.
Recommendation: It is recommended that sexual harassment legislation be
promulgated. (See recommendations in Part V.8.3., Indicator 81 for reference.) Sexual
harassment in the medical and health setting must be one of the prohibited acts. The
suggested legislation must have a definition of ‘sexual harassment’ that is compatible
with the one provided in Paragraph 18 of GR 19 and adapted to suit health-care
provider/patient and employer/employee relationships. It is also recommended that
such legislation require administrators of hospitals and health-care centres and clinics
to draft internal rules on sexual harassment and to disseminate such rules widely. The
administrators must also be mandated to form committees to receive complaints on
sexual harassment, if any, and to provide appropriate remedies to the grievances of the
victim-patient. The law should also penalize failure to do such obligations, including
making the hospital, health-care centre or clinics, liable for damages when sexual
harassment occurs in their establishment.
275
620
Decree on Health Violations, Article 27(2)(h)
Health (Article 12 of CEDAW)