A report from the Ministry of Labour, Invalid and Social Affairs (MoLISA) has shown that 'social evils' are rising at an alarming rate in the whole, and among younger people in specific.
Prostitution facilities disguise as restaurants at Quat Lam beach in Nam Dinh Province
According to the Department for Social Evils Prevention (DSEP), under the MoLISA, Vietnam has around 30,000 sex workers and 171,400 people addicted to drugs, and the numbers are on the rise.
In 2012, VND70 billion (USD3.4 million)was spent for the prevention these activities.
Le Duc Hien, Deputy Head of DSEP, said social evils are spreading from urban to rural areas, and methods of operation are getting more sophisticated. New technologies have been used to form large-scale, inter-provincial prostitution rings, he added.
In 2012, the number of those addicted to drugs also increased by 7.7% compared to the previous year. The number addicts was especially alarming in some provinces, such as Thai Binh, which reported 746, Binh Duong with 285 and Thai Nguyen with 297.
Along with the rise in the number of addicts, the number of drug-related crimes has also increased three to five times that the numbers reported five years ago.
The DSEP said that there were 5,861 out of 115,836 business suspected of offering sexual services, involving 9,741 female workers. They are in the process of monitoring 1,861 facilities suspected of providing places for prostitution activities.
In order to prevent prostitution, the Ministry of Labour, Invalid and Social Affairs asked localities to take more responsibility for tightening control over the sex industry in their respective areas. There are currently 14,824 volunteers active in Vietnam for preventing such activities.
Last year 30,259 inspections were carried out at suspected facilities, uncovering 10,964 violations. They gave out warnings to 1,984 and fined 8,140 facilities. The total fines reached VND40 billion, an increase of 50% from 2011.
Though the Prime Minister issued Decision 679 to approve the Programme of Action on Sex Work 2010-2015, many localities have failed to fully implement any practical solutions. Prostitution has been prevalent since July, 2012, when prostitutes were only to be fined VND300,000-5 million if they were caught in the act.
Furthermore, developing social service facilities for sex workers has proven to take time. Meanwhile it has continued to cause social problems, including the spread of disease.
