Vietnam

The governing framework is Ordinance No. 10/2003/PL-UBTVQH11 on Prostitution Prevention and Combat (in force since 1 July 2003), supplemented by the 2015 Penal Code (Law 100/2015) Articles 327 (harbouring prostitutes), 328 (prostitution brokerage, 6 months to 15 years), and 329 (buying sex from minors aged 13–17, 1–15 years). Administrative penalties for selling and buying sex sit under Decree 144/2021/ND-CP. The 2012 Law on Handling of Administrative Violations ended compulsory detention of sex workers in "05/06 centres," shifting Vietnam from custodial to fine-based, but the underlying "social evils" framing administered by MOLISA's Department of Social Evils Prevention remains. A mid-2010s MOLISA-led debate explored legalising or regulating sex work but no decriminalisation bill has been enacted and no current 2025–26 reform proposal is on the legislative agenda. The most recent national policy instrument, Decision 1629/QD-TTg (2021), reaffirms the prohibitionist line through the 2021–2025 national prevention programme.

Enforcement is concentrated in Ho Chi Minh City (Districts 1, 3, 5, 10, 11, Binh Thanh, Tan Binh), Hanoi, Haiphong, and Da Nang. Visible street solicitation has nearly disappeared — HCMC reported roughly 864 estimated sex workers in mid-2025, down ~30% year-on-year. Activity has shifted into karaoke "om" lounges, Japanese hostess bars on Le Thanh Ton ("Little Japan"), massage parlours, spa fronts, and backpacker zones around Bui Vien/Pham Ngu Lao. In the first half of 2025, HCMC authorities identified 4,033 service venues with prostitution potential, of which 410 were suspected of actual sex work and 851 of "lewd services," involving more than 12,000 workers. Police routinely conduct undercover raids; venues catering exclusively to foreign clients are flagged as a "complex" priority for the social-evils division.

Vietnam's 2018 Law on Cybersecurity (No. 24/2018/QH14) and Decree 53/2022 require data localisation and force platforms to hand over user data on request. Decree 13/2023/ND-CP on Personal Data Protection (effective 1 July 2023) adds GDPR-style consent rules but is enforced by the same body that pursues "social evils" cases. Decree 147/2024/ND-CP (in force 25 December 2024) requires mobile-number identity verification for social-media accounts. Zalo (Vietnamese-owned) should be treated as monitored; encrypted apps remain the safest channels.

Vietnam is not a "sex tourism friendly" destination in any legal sense — all commercial sex is illegal. Foreign clients caught buying sex face administrative fines plus potential visa cancellation and deportation. Possession of sex-work-adjacent content on devices at customs is a real risk. Foreign sex workers face a near-automatic expulsion track. Hotels classified as 3-star and above are required to register guests with police.

No legal advertising market. Booking flows are private and invite-only: Zalo groups, Telegram channels, closed Facebook/Messenger groups, and Twitter/X DMs. International escort directories operate from offshore servers and are intermittently blocked under Decree 147/2024.

• Viet Nam Network of Self-help Groups of Sex Workers (VNSW) — supported by UNAIDS Vietnam
• UNAIDS Vietnam
• UNFPA Vietnam — HIV & sex worker programming