English - CEDAW Southeast Asia

A Gendered and Rights-Based Review of Vietnamese Legal Documents through the Lens of CEDAW
Stalking
The crime of stalking is not defined or penalized in Viet Nam’s laws. It is recommended that information
and data on stalking be obtained. Once obtained, appropriate measures for legal protection,
including protection orders, should be available to victims.
TEMPORARY SPECIAL MEASURES AND MEASURES IN FAVOUR OF MATERNITY
(Article 4 of CEDAW)
Temporary special measures and measures in favour of maternity are urged by Article 4 of
CEDAW. GR 25 elaborates further on the nature of temporary special measures and the obligation
to put them in place. Paragraphs 10 and 11 of Concluding Comments on Viet Nam 2007 point
out the lack of apparent clarity on temporary special measures and the need to take concrete
measures, including temporary special measures in all sectors. Bearing this in mind, the selected
indicators for this article look into whether there are legal provisions that define temporary special
measures and require their setting up. In this review, temporary special measures relating to
specific fields - such as employment, health, political participation and education - are discussed
in this review in the parts relating to those specific fields. An indicator also focused on what measures
in favour of maternity are in place.
TEMPORARY SPECIAL MEASURES
Article 63 of the Constitution creates a framework for temporary special measures. The Law on
Gender Equality calls these measures measures to promote gender equality. The law gives a definition
as well as identifies what these measures are in relation to particular fields. A review of
examples of measures to promote equality in Articles 11-14 and 19 of the Law on Gender
Equality show that there is a need to understand better what temporary special measures are,
especially in listing what temporary special measures are required by law. In line with Concluding
Comments on Viet Nam 2007, it is recommended that the Law on Gender Equality and its subordinate
legal documents should make clear distinctions between temporary special measures
(measures to promote equality) and general social policies in favour of women. It is also recommended
that the subordinate legal documents include in the enumeration other forms of temporary
special measures or measures to promote equality, such as special budgetary allocations,
outreach or support programmes, and preferential treatment. Temporary special measures in
other fields must also be considered, such as in the field of science and technology, culture, information,
sports, and public health.
MEASURES IN FAVOUR OF MATERNITY
See discussion on Articles 10, 11, 12 and 16 of CEDAW.
SOCIAL AND CULTURAL PATTERNS OF CONDUCT
(Article 5 of CEDAW)
13
Article 5 of CEDAW and Paragraphs 12 and 13 of Concluding Comments on Viet Nam 2007
require a number of measures to be put in place to change practices that discriminate against
women, including cultural practices, stereotypes and patterns of conduct. A number of focus
areas are seen as critical to bring about change in this regard, including awareness-raising on
gender equality, information dissemination on CEDAW and laws, translation of CEDAW and laws
into ethnic minority languages, and laying down a role for the media. In view of this, the selected
Executive summary