VZCZCXRO4577
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHHI #0180/01 0581013
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 271013Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9216
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH 5624
RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 HANOI 000180 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR G/TIP, G-ACBlank, INL, DRL, PRM, EAP/MLS, and EAP/RSP, 
USAID/ANE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KTIP KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB VM
 
SUBJECT:  2009 TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT - VIETNAM - PART 2 of 
3 
 
HANOI 00000180  001.2 OF 008 
 
 
¶B.  Punishment of Sex Trafficking Offenses 
 
As described above, the Penal Code of Vietnam states in Article 119 
that those who commit acts of trafficking women for the purpose of 
prostitution shall be sentenced to between five and twenty years of 
imprisonment.  Article 120 provides sentences of between ten and 
twenty years of imprisonment for trafficking children for purposes 
of prostitution.  There were numerous high-profile sex-related TIP 
convictions reported by the GVN and in the media, during the 
reporting period.  Penalties typically ranged from five to twenty 
years.  For both of these, courts typically agreed with the 
prosecution's recommendations that the maximum penalty be imposed. 
 
 
¶C.  Punishment of Labor Trafficking Offenses 
 
Traffickers of individuals for labor exploitation are prosecuted in 
Vietnam under Penal Code section 275 and face penalties of between 
two and twenty years in prison depending on the severity of the 
crime.  These cases are typically more difficult to prosecute and 
often involve foreign perpetrators.  Penalties for violating the 
2007 export labor law include a range from fines, restrictions on 
operations, and loss of license for export labor recruitment 
companies. 
 
¶D.  Penalties for Rape/Forcible Sexual Assault 
 
GVN penalties for rape or forcible sexual assault range from six 
months in prison to capital punishment.  Capital punishment is 
reserved for cases in which:  the victim is killed, seriously 
disabled or infected with HIV/AIDS; the perpetrator is a participant 
in a gang rape; or, the perpetrator has raped more than one person. 
With the exception of the potential of the death penalty or life in 
prison in the circumstances mentioned above, the penalties for 
rape/sexual assault and for trafficking in persons are similar. 
 
¶E.  Law Enforcement Statistics 
 
In 2006, the GVN established a specialized anti-TIP police unit, a 
division of the MPS Criminal Department, to focus on trafficking. 
This unit continued to register significant successes in the 
investigation, arrest, and prosecution of traffickers.  Government 
sentencing has consistently handed down 20-year sentences, the 
maximum under the GVN Penal Code.  All sentences have a review 
process. 
 
The NSC reported in early 2008 that from 2005-2007, there were 900 
official cases of TIP, involving the trafficking of 2,002 women and 
children.  For 2008, the NSC reported 375 TIP-related cases, 
involving 980 victims and 710 suspects.  Investigations were 
officially opened on 330 of the 375 cases; the remaining cases were 
either dismissed or await further review for various reasons (lack 
of evidence, reluctance of victim or witness to testify, initial 
inquiry found no criminal activity, etc.).  Vietnamese courts 
convicted 424 individuals on trafficking charges in 2008 out of 
approximately 580 arrests.  This is up from approximately 300 
convictions in 2007.  One of those convicted received the highest 
sentence of life imprisonment, 38 individuals received the sentence 
of 15 - 20 years in prison, over 130 others received 7 - 15 years of 
imprisonment, and more than 180 received 3 - 7 years in prison. 
These statistics largely do not capture export-labor related cases. 
 
 
Post does not have reliable data on the number of cases which only 
received suspended sentences or fines but, as the GVN regularly 
tells post, human traffickers are all prosecuted to the full extent 
of the law, and this appears to be the case although sentencing may 
vary from province to province.  As in other criminal cases in 
Vietnam, defendants are not accorded strong rights in the 
courtroom. 
 
While convictions were up, the 375 cases investigated represented a 
slight decrease compared with last year; however, we do not believe 
this represents a significant overall trend.  In general, the level 
of TIP investigations and prosecutions in Vietnam has increased 
since 2005, reflecting an overall increase in the GVN's capacity to 
identify cases, as well as a dramatic improvement in the training of 
local officials. 
 
Several TIP rings were broken up during the reporting period and 
several Vietnamese traffickers were convicted.  Prosecutions also 
 
HANOI 00000180  002.2 OF 008 
 
 
continued to rise.  High-profile cases included: 
 
-- In southern Tay Ninh province, police busted four trafficking 
rings, arresting 11 suspects and rescuing 15 women from December 
2007 to July 2008.  Traffickers planned to take the victims across 
the border to Cambodia, where they would then be sent to Singapore 
and Malaysia to be sold into prostitution.  Police investigations 
for these cases are still in progress. 
 
-- In June 2008, a trafficker from An Giang province was sentenced 
to 12 years in prison, while in HCMC, two traffickers were sentenced 
to 10 and 12 years, respectively, for trafficking 28 women to 
Malaysia via an illegal marriage brokering business.  The HCMC 
traffickers charged clients approximately USD $350 in brokerage 
fees, then sold them to brothels in Malaysia for USD $1,500-2,000. 
 
 
-- In November 2008, HCMC and Tay Ninh authorities working together 
arrested a ring of nine traffickers who had trafficked around 100 
women to South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan in the past three years, 
and the investigation is ongoing.  The victims, age 18-25, were from 
the Southern provinces of Tay Ninh, Long An, Soc Trang, Bac Lieu and 
Can Tho city. 
 
-- In December 2008, the Can Tho People's Court sentenced five 
traffickers to vary sentences of 5 to 17 years in prison for 
trafficking over 18 young women from the Mekong Delta area into 
prostitution in Malaysia, Cambodia and Singapore.  Each victim's 
family was paid USD $800, with an additional USD $400 for referrals. 
 Upon arrival in Malaysia, the victims were forced to sign 
promissory notes of USD $4,400 and work as prostitutes in local 
bars. 
 
¶F.  GVN Training for Law Enforcement Officials 
 
From 2003 to 2007, MPS worked in close cooperation with the UNODC on 
a multi-year, multi-phase anti-TIP program to strengthen law 
enforcement institutions in Vietnam and provide anti-TIP training 
and manuals to hundreds of GVN Border Guard Command officers, MPS 
police officers, judges, prosecutors.  MPS and Border Guard Command 
training academies and Court Training Schools now include 
information on TIP. 
 
In December 2008, the Asian Regional Trafficking in Persons (ARTIP) 
project, funded by the Government of Australia, conducted a training 
seminar for justice and law enforcement officials and began a 
project working with MPS, MOJ and related law enforcement and legal 
institutions to continue training GVN officials following the end of 
the UNODC anti-TIP training program in 2007. 
 
Several GVN institutions and NGOs maintained regular cross-border 
training programs with China and Cambodia. 
 
UNICEF continued to train elements of the Vietnamese Border Guard 
Command on methods to identify and combat trafficking in children 
and procedures for re-integrating child victims, many of whom suffer 
from shock and various medical conditions when they return. 
 
The VWU has worked steadily with local authorities and courts in 
many Vietnamese provinces on public education programs designed to 
increase the identification and prosecution of traffickers, as well 
as with the Border Guard Command on how to assist and process victim 
returnees. 
 
Using the new GVN interagency training materials published in August 
2008, the NSC conducted nine training courses for approximately 500 
local officials to date.  5,000 copies of the training manual have 
been widely distributed at provincial and district levels and 
additional training is planned in 2009.  A legal handbook has also 
been developed for and praised by GVN judges and prosecutors.  The 
NSC is currently in coordination on another training manual on 
protection of victims and the legal process. 
 
¶G.  Cooperation with Other Governments 
 
The GVN is committed to implementing its commitments under 
international agreements, and in 2008 continued to step up its 
transnational cooperation in combating TIP.  The GVN actively 
implemented anti-TIP MOUs with Cambodia (signed October 2005), China 
(signed May 2006), and Thailand (signed March 2008).  Police 
workshops and exchanges with China continued during the reporting 
 
HANOI 00000180  003.2 OF 008 
 
 
period, and Malaysian and Vietnamese police agreed in principle on 
greater joint ant-TIP efforts.  In December 2008, the GVN began 
discussions with China for a bilateral agreement and began exploring 
a draft agreement with Laos in early 2009. 
 
Vietnam has agreements with China, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos on 
procedures for repatriating victims.  While a working relationship 
with Malaysia exists, there are no formal procedures in place. 
Several GVN officials lamented the lack of formal cooperation with 
Malaysia, citing delays and difficulties with Malaysian authorities 
in the formal identification and repatriation of Vietnamese victims. 
 
 
Chinese and Vietnamese border authorities now meet monthly to 
exchange information, coordinate actions to prevent cross-border 
smuggling of women and children, and assist victim returnees. 
However, some communication and identification problems with 
returning victims at the Chinese border remain.  MFA consular 
officials noted that Chinese officials sometimes dump groups of 
people on the border for Vietnamese officials to identify and 
determine whether they are returning TIP victims, returning illegal 
migrants, or belong to some other category. 
 
The VWU regularly collaborated with several women's federations in 
bordering Chinese provinces, Taiwan, Cambodia and Singapore, holding 
workshops and training sessions. 
 
Other highlights of international anti-TIP activities during the 
reporting period included: 
 
-- The GVN worked closely with ILO and UNIAP on COMMIT-related 
obligations, training and information campaigns and the national 
anti-TIP training manual. 
 
-- The GVN coordinated with international NGOs and victim advocate 
organizations in drafting the new comprehensive TIP law. 
 
-- The GVN worked closely with ILO on workshop and campaigns on 
labor recruitment and worker protections. 
 
-- Vietnam played an active role in the ASEAN Regional Taskforce to 
Prevent Child-Sex Tourism and the ASEAN Regional Education Campaign 
aimed at protecting children from child sex tourists.  The GVN is 
preparing to host a National Roundtable of interested partners to 
discuss the ASEAN Five Year Plan in Hanoi in March 2008. 
 
¶H.  Extradition of Foreign Nationals 
 
Vietnam can and does expel and extradite foreigners who are charged 
with trafficking in other countries, even in the absence of 
extradition treaties, but only on a case-by-case basis.  The Supreme 
People's Court and the MPS complain that one of the biggest problems 
in the anti-TIP fight is weak mutual legal assistance (MLA) between 
Vietnam and destination nations and an inability to arrest 
traffickers based outside of Vietnam.  The MOJ reports that it only 
has a few extradition agreements with other countries and MLA 
treaties with 18 countries.  UNODC has attempted to assist the GVN 
in this area, but requirements remain largely unmet.  The GVN works 
with INTERPOL as needed.  There were no trafficking-related 
extraditions in 2008.  MOJ officials note that Vietnam does not 
extradite its own citizens anywhere for any purpose, in accordance 
with the 1998 Citizenship Law. 
 
¶I.  Evidence of GVN Involvement in or Tolerance of TIP 
 
The Mission has no information or indications that high-level 
officials are participating in or condoning trafficking in Vietnam. 
Because organized trafficking networks in Vietnam are relatively 
ad-hoc and trafficking is typically conducted by small organizations 
or by individuals, concentrations of TIP-related wealth -- and thus 
opportunities for systemic corruption -- are relatively rare. 
 
However, Vietnam suffers from endemic corruption overall and 
corruption of GVN officials presumably plays a role in individual 
trafficking cases.  As in smuggling in general, local officials at 
border crossings and checkpoints reportedly receive small sums to 
"look the other way."  Further, while cases of local-level 
trafficking-related corruption rarely appear in the press, NGOs and 
international organizations believe it is not uncommon. 
 
GVN officials noted that law enforcement becomes more difficult in 
 
HANOI 00000180  004.2 OF 008 
 
 
cases where a family relationship exists between the authorities and 
the traffickers.  This is particularly true at the commune and 
village level, where dense and complicated family relationships tend 
to prevail.  The fact that many traffickers are people who return to 
their hometowns from overseas further complicates law enforcement. 
MPS contacts noted that the professionalism and capabilities of law 
enforcement in rural areas are usually lower than in cities and 
towns. 
 
¶J.  GVN Steps to Counter Official Involvement in TIP 
 
MPS officials stated that a combination of internal administrative 
punishments and legal prosecution would be used to combat any 
official corruption or participation in trafficking.  The NSC 
confirmed that there have been no cases of corruption specifically 
involving TIP investigated or prosecuted to date, but MPS officials 
noted that there may have been cases in which convicted traffickers 
also had some official capacity, especially at the local level. 
Those cases would be contained in the aggregate indictment, 
prosecution, and arrest statistics under Articles 119 and 120.  The 
GVN does not analyze that data to determine if any of the 
individuals involved are public officials.  The new Anti-Corruption 
Law, which went into effect in June 2006, is designed to further 
root out official corruption and enjoys widespread public support 
and official backing from the Prime Minister's office, but has yet 
to be tested in relation to a trafficking case. 
 
¶K.  Legal Status of Prostitution 
 
Prostitution is subject to penalties in Vietnam and brothel owners, 
procurers (pimps), prostitutes and customers are all subject to 
arrest.  Brothel owners and procurers face jail time under the Penal 
Code while prostitutes and customers are typically given 
administrative punishment, imposed by local authorities without the 
involvement of prosecutors or courts.  Prostitutes can be sent to 
rehabilitation centers, while customers face fines.  Customers, 
including foreign customers, who are found with prostitutes under 
the age of 18, are subject to prosecution and jail time. 
 
Prostitution falls under the GVN'S "social evils" laws, which in 
theory characterizes prostitutes (along with drug users) as victims 
and not criminals.  However, the government's extensive campaign to 
stigmatize social evils has led to a common perception that 
prostitutes are themselves "social evils."  Pimps and brothel owners 
are considered criminals; however, despite some occasional police 
raids of large brothels, NGOs tell us that there have been few 
prosecutions.  One reason is that prostitutes working at massage 
parlors and karaoke bars now quickly leave with their male clients 
and engage in sex away from their establishments.  There is little 
enforcement of the law against customers, in part because government 
officials and prominent businessmen are known to procure such 
services. 
 
Women who are arrested as prostitutes can be sent to rehabilitation 
"05" centers for up to two years, but it is not clear how often this 
is enforced.  In HCMC and Hanoi, there are intermediate detention 
centers where a decision is made whether to detain women in the "05" 
centers.  "Non-resident" women are much more likely to be 
incarcerated than locals, according to Embassy NGO contacts.  There 
has not been a concerted GVN effort to identify arrested prostitutes 
who have been trafficked internally, although there is evidence that 
such trafficking exists. 
 
¶L.  Troop Contributions to International Peacekeeping Operations 
 
The GVN does not contribute troops to international peacekeeping 
efforts, although future participation is under discussion. 
 
¶M.  Vietnam as a Child Sex Tourism Destination 
 
Vietnam is seen as an increasingly attractive destination for 
international child sex tourism, with perpetrators coming regionally 
from Japan, Korea, China and Taiwan.  Other perpetrators reportedly 
come from the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States. 
Foreign law enforcement sources state that, although its 
investigative capacity is limited, the GVN has generally been 
responsive at the national level to requests for cooperation in 
cases where foreign pedophiles are wanted for child sex tourism 
crimes.  Cooperation from local law enforcement, however, has been 
lacking. 
 
 
HANOI 00000180  005.2 OF 008 
 
 
The GVN is increasingly aware of the growing threat of child sex 
tourism and conducted several public awareness campaigns in 
cooperation with international NGOs.  Nha Trang is a major 
destination for sex tourists.  Some local residents, in cooperation 
with NGOs, have started campaigns to prevent sexual abuse of street 
children in an attempt to combat the problem.  In March 2007, the 
MPS initiated a Study Group to look into establishing a dedicated 
investigative unit for child sex tourism.  In December 2007, MPS 
established a Special Unit on Child Sex Abusers.  According to the 
MPS, the unit has been effective during 2008, although the MPS 
declined to share data or statistics on specific cases. 
 
NSC officials stated that it was contending with a number of new 
crimes for which Vietnam does not have specific laws.  These 
included solicitation of children via the Internet, online child 
pornography and the use of Webcams for online sex.  MPS admitted 
that child sex tourism was increasingly a concern as international 
tourism to Vietnam rapidly increases.  The Ministry of Culture, 
Sport, and Tourism joined the NSC and works with the tourist 
industry in Vietnam to combat child sex tourism. 
 
Vietnam also plays an increasingly active role in the ASEAN Regional 
Taskforce to Prevent Child-Sex Tourism and the ASEAN Regional 
Education Campaign aimed at protecting children from child-sex 
tourists.  The GVN is preparing to host a National Roundtable of 
interested partners to discuss the ASEAN Five Year Plan in Hanoi in 
March 2009. 
 
MPS has relied to date on its existing criminal code for case 
prosecutions and worked with individual provinces, INTERPOL and with 
the governments of foreign perpetrators.  MPS has asked for foreign 
governments to send it information when individuals with such 
records travel to Vietnam, so it can alert the relevant provincial 
police.  MPS is currently planning to build a database on pedophiles 
over the next two years, but no public information on the progress 
of this effort is available.  MOLISA officials state that Vietnamese 
authorities will confront all tourists engaging in child sexual 
exploitation and prosecute them to the full extent of the law; 
however sone child advocates in Nha Trang report that local police 
typically do not want to get involved with cases of suspected child 
sex tourism when it involves foreigners. 
 
In 2005, the high profile case of British pop star Gary Glitter came 
to light.  Glitter was arrested by Vietnamese authorities and 
charged with molesting two under-aged girls, aged 10 and 11, at his 
home in Vung Tau, Vietnam.  He originally faced possible child rape 
charges carrying the death penalty, but prosecutors did not find 
sufficient evidence to support the charges.  Early in 2006, he was 
convicted of committing obscene acts with minors and sentenced to 
three years' imprisonment.  On one of two appeals in 2007, his 
sentence was reduced by three months.  Glitter was released from 
prison on August 19, 2008 and returned to London three days later, 
after being refused entry into Thailand and Hong Kong. 
 
NGO sources tell us that a GVN requirement that all tourists staying 
in hotels register their passports may assist somewhat in keeping 
pedophiles away from Vietnam, particularly since Laos and Cambodia 
are considered to have easier registration requirements.  However, 
many "short-stay" hotels in Vietnam are geared towards prostitution 
and typically do not require registration. 
 
Under Article 6 of the Vietnamese Penal Code, Vietnamese citizens 
who commit crimes outside of Vietnam are still subject to 
prosecution under Vietnamese law.  This also applies to sexual 
crimes against children, though Vietnamese nationals are not 
generally considered to be significantly represented in the ranks of 
international child sex tourists. 
 
¶5. (SBU) PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS 
 
¶A.  GVN Legal Protections for Victims and Witnesses 
 
According to Vietnamese law, "citizens have the rights to have their 
life, health, reputation, dignity and assets protected by law.  Any 
acts ruining life, health, reputation, dignity or assets will be 
dealt with by law.  If the life, health, reputation, dignity or 
assets of the victim, witness, or anyone else taking part in the 
prosecutorial process, or their loved ones, are threatened, 
competent authorities shall apply necessary measures for protection 
as stipulated by the law."  Further, witnesses have "the right to 
request the government to protect his/her life, health, reputation, 
 
HANOI 00000180  006.2 OF 008 
 
 
dignity, assets and other legitimate rights and interests when 
taking part in the prosecutorial process." 
 
According to the National Assembly's Law Department, security and 
police authorities provide protection for victims and witnesses, in 
most cases at their request.  In some exceptional cases, the GVN 
automatically offers to provide protection, depending on the 
seriousness and the importance of the case.  Protection may include: 
 secure temporary residences, security guard escort, 24 hour 
security protection and special communication systems. 
 
On the labor side, media articles and international NGOs have 
cautioned the GVN against ramping up the industry without also 
providing robust worker protections.  Reports of Vietnamese workers 
charged upwards of USD $7,000 for the opportunity to work abroad 
(fees which most workers typically can only begin to cover after one 
or sometimes two years abroad), as well as bonded labor, related sex 
trafficking and the lack of resources available to workers in 
distress have subsequently emerged. 
 
¶B.  Victim Care Facilities 
 
MOLISA and the VWU worked with IOM and other NGOs in supporting 
shelters around the country.  Services offered to victims usually 
include psychological counseling, healthcare, vocational training, 
job placement, financial loans and micro-credit and community 
re-integration.  NGOs have stated the need for training, 
particularly in the areas of counseling and social work.  The GVN 
lacked the resources to provide professional staffing of these 
centers without significant donor assistance. 
 
IOM, with support from the State Department's Bureau of Population, 
Refugees and Migration, launched a second victim assistance and 
assessment center in An Giang province in the Mekong Delta in July 
¶2008.  Like the first IOM assessment center in Lao Cai province in 
the north, the An Giang center is operated in cooperation with 
MOLISA and provides room and board, medical checkups and treatment, 
access to legal assistance and counseling, and information about 
longer term shelter services and vocational training and education 
opportunities.  Stay at the center is voluntary, but is limited to 
one to two months.  The center's staff members are MOLISA employees 
trained by IOM and the center is 100 percent funded by IOM. 
 
¶C.  Access to Legal, Medical, and Psychological Services 
 
The NPA assigns responsibility for the caring for victims of 
trafficking to both MOLISA and the VWU, with MOLISA focusing mostly 
on vocational training and job placement for victims and the VWU 
focusing more on psychological services and community 
re-integration.  MOLISA also coordinates with other relevant 
agencies and localities to provide job training and income 
generation activities, as well as medical treatment to victims of 
trafficking.  As a practical matter, primary responsibility 
(financial and operational) for victims of trafficking is often 
shifted back to the provincial and local levels.  At the local 
level, it is usually VWU representatives that care for and monitor 
returnees over the long term. 
 
In provinces such as An Giang in the south and Lang Son and Quang 
Ninh in the north, local People's Committees and Women's Unions work 
together to provide services and care to returnees.  The level of 
this care, in particular medical care, depends on the political will 
and the financial resources of the locality.  Medical care is 
generally rudimentary and psycho-social care almost non-existent in 
the communities from which trafficking victims originate, and many 
victims likely do not receive adequate care. 
 
The GVN established professional university training programs to 
provide human resources for the social sector, including the shelter 
system, in 2006.  While the professionalization of the social work 
sector is getting increased attention in Vietnam (USAID PEPFAR funds 
are contributing to advancing social work in Vietnam), much work 
remains and it will be a number of years before Vietnam develops 
adequate human resources to provide quality social services. 
 
According to MOLISA, the GVN is spending some VND 77.3 billion (USD 
4.86 million) from the State budget for 2005-2010 on a MOLISA-Border 
Guard Command coordinated project "to receive and provide initial 
support for victims who are women and children returning from 
overseas."  Under this project, about 15,000 victims will have 
access to legal aid, health and financial services. 
 
HANOI 00000180  007.2 OF 008 
 
 
 
¶D.  Assistance to Foreign Trafficking Victims 
 
There are no specific protections from deportation or granting of 
residency status for foreign national victims of trafficking.  There 
are no known cases of resettlement of TIP victims to a third 
country.  The GVN does screen victims to see whether they are 
victims of TIP or illegal migration.  When Vietnam is a transit or 
destination country for foreign national victims, the GVN liaises 
with the sending country for safe return of victims. 
 
¶E.  Long-term Resources 
 
As discussed above (section 5.C and 5.D.), several shelter services 
provide longer term room, board, and support services for 
trafficking victims.  Most also serve other groups in need, 
including individuals at risk for trafficking, victims of sexual 
abuse, or women returning from abusive or fraudulent foreign 
marriages.  The residents are exclusively women; no specific shelter 
system yet exists to serve male trafficking victims. 
 
In March 2007, the VWU opened the national "Center for Women and 
Development" in Hanoi.  The Center provides two longer-term shelter 
residences, one for trafficking victims and another for victims of 
domestic violence.  These residences serve as a safe haven and 
provide vocational training and psycho-social counseling center for 
victims.  The VWU now operates a total of four such centers, one 
each in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho, and Hue (all with 
international NGO support).  The maximum stay at the shelter is 18 
months, with 12 months being the average stay.  VWU officials and 
local members collaborate to continue to monitor each victim's 
progress upon her return home for up to two years.  Several other 
long-term shelters of a similar nature are operated by international 
NGOs in cooperation with MOLISA and the VWU. 
 
TIP victims continue face discrimination when they try to 
reintegrate back into their communities, a problem closely related 
to women's overall status in Vietnam.  Stigma, confidentiality, and 
treatment with dignity remain issues for all TIP victims returning 
to their communities.  Increased media reporting, educational 
campaigns, and the willingness of victims to publically share their 
stories are positive signs that this stigma is slowly abating. 
 
In cases where family members were complicit in trafficking, it may 
not be safe for victims to return home.  Many returnees do not want 
to return to live in their home provinces.  Rather, they move to 
live in other provinces away from their original family and 
neighborhood support network, even though this may result in greater 
economic and psychological hardship for the victim. 
 
¶F.  System of Referrals to Care 
 
The GVN screens victims to see whether they are victims of TIP or 
illegal migration.  Since the last reporting period, the GVN took 
initial steps to develop a system of referrals to appropriate care. 
The VWU, several UN agencies and IOM have provided training for both 
the Border Guard Command and local authorities on how to identify, 
process and treat with dignity trafficking victims, and to ensure 
that they are not mixed in with "criminals." 
 
In May 2008, the GVN established formal procedures for receiving 
victims and referring them to care (see also section 5.H).  For 
victims returning via official border crossings, the Border Guard is 
charged with the initial identification of the victim and notifying 
MPS, MOLISA, and usually the VWU.  At the border, the victim can 
receive basic medical care, as well as food, clothing, and a small 
amount of money, depending on their needs.  In some cases, local 
level MPS or MOLISA officials identify victims after they have 
returned to their home communities.  If an officially identified 
victim, especially in the case of a child, needs immediate 
psychological and health care support, they will be referred by 
Border Guard in the border province to DOLISA in their destination 
province within 15 days of the entry into the country. 
 
Ideally, the "identified" victim will go to an assessment center for 
up to 30 days (average stay is seven days to two weeks) and receive 
initial care, counseling, and information.  Following this, the 
victim may choose to go on to a longer-term shelter with the goal of 
rehabilitation and reintegration. 
 
This process is new and has only been applied in a small number of 
 
HANOI 00000180  008.2 OF 008 
 
 
cases for those individuals officially identified as trafficking 
victims by GVN authorities.  Officials at the assessment centers and 
other shelters stated that victims who self-identify would not be 
turned away and would be provided the same level of service as 
official victims. 
 
There is wide recognition that the referral system has significant 
gaps and is still inadequate, largely due to the challenges of 
identifying the large numbers of victims who do not return via 
official border crossings and the complexity of the situation for 
each individual victim.  Some do not wish to lose their anonymity by 
being officially identified as a victim, others want to go home and 
not stay in a shelter.  The social stigma associated with being a 
trafficking victim further complicates a victim's decision to remain 
in a shelter, return home, or settle elsewhere in Vietnam.  Lack of 
government resources to operate the assessment centers and shelters 
is an additional challenge to providing established care over the 
long term. 
 
MICHALAK