Vietnam cracks down on sex trade, targets under-18s

December 14, 2004

Hanoi - Vietnam has banned hotels, restaurants, massage parlours and Internet cafes from employing people under the age of 18 as it moves to crack down on widespread prostitution, state media reported on Tuesday.

The ruling will be effective from next year and establishments with workers under 18 would have to fire them within 30 days, the Tien Phong (Pioneer) newspaper said.

Prostitution is becoming a major problem in the communist country where HIV/AIDS infections are rising fast among drug users and sex workers.

Around 40 percent of an estimated 300,000 HIV/AIDS cases are sex workers and those who combine drug use and the sex trade in the country of 82 million, health officials say.

Last week, police raided an international hotel in Hanoi and detained 71 young women, many of who were university students, for sexual involvement with foreign tourists.

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