[health-vn] call for support - re: Vietnam officials refuse to prosecute rape of transsexual

[Trang Nguyen]

Thank you so much, Vern, for posting this story.

 

I'm emailing the lists on behalf of iSEE (Institute for Studies of Society,
Economy and Environment), a research and advocacy organization focusing on
the rights of minority groups, including lesbians, gays, bisexuals and
transgenders. We are concerned about this case and searching for legal
advice both from an international perspective as well as a Vietnamese
perspective.

 

If you are familiar with legal and rights issues on this topic from the
perspective of another country or international agreements, and could spare
some time for us to consult you, please contact my colleague, iSEE's
director Le Quang Binh, at binhisee at gmail.com (or myself at
nqtrang.hanoi at gmail.com).

 

Or if you are a Vietnamese organization or lawyer or advocate who is engaged
in this case and would like to share, please contact us also.

 

Many thanks,

 

Nguyen Quynh Trang

iSEE (Institute for Studies of Society, Economy and Environment)

www.isee.org.vn

 

 

From: gender-cedaw-vn-bounces at anu.edu.au
[mailto:gender-cedaw-vn-bounces at anu.edu.au] On Behalf Of vern weitzel
Sent: Wednesday, August 25, 2010 8:26 PM
To: [gender-cedaw-vn discussion group] group]
Subject: [gender-cedaw-vn] Vietnam officials refuse to prosecute rape of
transsexual

 

From: Stephen Denney <srdenney at gmail.com>

Date: 25 August 2010 12:41:54 PM PDT

To: vnnews-l at anu.edu.au

Subject: [vnnews-l] LE: Vietnam officials refuse to prosecute rape of
transsexual

 

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/asiapacific/news/article_1579918.php/
Vietnam-officials-refuse-to-prosecute-rape-of-transexual

 

Vietnam officials refuse to prosecute rape of transsexual

Source: dpa

Aug 25, 2010, 8:07 GMT

Hanoi - Vietnamese provincial authorities are refusing to prosecute
three men who police say gang-raped a transexual woman, officials said
Wednesday.

Judicial officials said the woman had not reclassified her legal
gender from male to female, and that Vietnamese law only covers rape
of women by men.

'The laws don't regulate how to deal with this case, so even if the
group raped her 10 times, we would not be able to sentence them,' said
Nguyen Van Thin, chief judge of the Quang Binh Provincial People's
Court.

Thin's statement appeared to contradict the Vietnamese Penal Code,
Article 111 of which states that 'those who use violence ... in order
to have sexual intercourse with victims against the latter's will' are
guilty of rape, without reference to gender.

The rape took place on April 4 in Quang Binh province, according to
the newspaper Ho Chi Minh City Law. She reported the crime the next
day and police arrested the three men, who reportedly confessed.

When police sent documentation on the case to the procuracy, the
woman's identification documents showed her gender as male. She said
she had a sex-change operation four years previously and had not taken
legal steps to reclassify her gender.

Some prosecutors then claimed the law did not cover the case. The
accused remain in detention while judicial officials debate how to
proceed.

In a letter published by the online newspaper VnExpress, lawyer Vu
Tien Vinh stated that the law did not clearly address such cases, and
that cases of women raping men could also not be prosecuted.

Another lawyer, Cu Huy Ha Vu, said that while authorities had never
specifically addressed the issue of rape of a transexual, they should
be able to prosecute the crime under current law.

Articles 111 ('Rape') and 113 ('Forcible sexual intercourse') of
Vietnam's Penal Code make no reference to the genders of the offender
or the victim.
ENDS

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