Breaking the Cycle of Trafficking in Vietnam: a Critical Systemic Policy Review

The paper addresses human trafficking from an intersectional perspective and gender and right based approach, and makes policy suggestions based on a critical systemic approach. It examines human trafficking from both the demand and supply sides and reviews a reintegration shelter for trafficked persons in Vietnam. The paper examines a gender responsive-rights approach to understand why some women are more vulnerable than others, and the need to re-frame policy to enable and empower women so that they are less vulnerable to trafficking. In Vietnam, statistics documented throughout the country over the past ten years have shown that women and girls are being trafficked as labourers, domestic workers, sex workers, and brides throughout the region, as well as globally. An increasing demand for sex workers has not only fuelled mobility, but also trafficking. Although reintegration services are vital for their safe resettlement, it is also of paramount importance to prevent trafficking by empowering women.