Department of State 2011 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices Report,Īccording to the Encyclopedia of Sexuality: In Vietnam, there has historically been relatively little male homosexuality, although a few of the emperors of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries did maintain male concubines. [Source: 2011 Human Rights Reports: Vietnam, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor,U.S.
Most LGBT persons chose not to tell family of their sexual orientation for fear of being disowned, and a 2011 online survey, conducted by the Information Sharing and Connecting Group with more than one thousand LGBT respondents, noted that more than 20 percent were forced into counseling by their families. The institute also reported that government officials, the Women’s Union, and the Lawyers Association participated in sensitivity training during the year. A 2009 survey of more than 3,200 LGBT individuals by the Institute for Studies of Society, Economy, and the Environment reported that 4.5 percent claimed they were victims of assault or physical abuse by homophobic individuals and 6.5 percent claimed they lost jobs because of their sexual orientation. A lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community existed but was largely underground. There was no reported official discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, but societal discrimination and stigma were pervasive. Department of State: Consensual same-sex sexual activity is not criminalized, although by decree, individuals may not change their gender.
There are no laws or regulations on homosexuality or homosexuals in Vietnam, and no mention of gays as a risk group for HIV and AIDS.Īccording to the U.S. Even so historically it has been tolerated.
It is also ranked as a "social evil" along with prostitution and drug abuse. Homosexuality is regarded as a disease in Vietnam.