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LIVING
BOILING POINT
N
SOCIETY AT LARGE
N
guyen Viet Tien, Deputy Min-
ister of Health, recently sub-
mitted the proposal to revise
the Marriage and Family Law
in order to allow same-sex marriages.
He wrote of both the human and civil
rights of homosexual people, empha-
sising their right to seek happiness and
access education and health facilities.
Moreover, he says homosexuality must
not be described as an illness, citing the
fact that the World Health Organization
removed homosexuality from its list of
mental problems decades ago.
A MINORITY GROUP UNDER MAJOR
PRESSURE
Some estimates put the propor-
tion of homosexual people in Vietnam
at 3 per cent. Vietnam’s Marriage and
Family Law prohibits homosexual mar-
riage on the grounds that it is against
natural rules and the moral principles in
Vietnamese society. Whatever the rea-
son, the law discourages homosexual
people from revealing their true selves
and encourages society’s discrimination
against them.
Research from the Institute for
Studies of Society, Economy and En-
vironment (iSee) has shown that 90
per cent of lesbian, gay, bisexual or
transgender (LGBT) people felt discrimi-
nation which led to 86 per cent of them
trying to hide their true orientation.
Among the 1,800 interviewees, 20 per
cent said they had lost their friends
over the issue; 15 per cent had re-
ceived scorn from their family; 6.5 per
cent lost their jobs; 4.5 per cent were
beaten; and 4.1 per cent were expelled
from their homes.
While attitudes to LGBT people
have progressed in many countries, in
Vietnam 50 per cent of people still view
homosexuality as a sickness accord-
ing to Le Quang Binh, iSee’s director.
Binh also pointed out that a worrying
number of homosexual people have
thought of committing suicide because
of this discrimination.
A DOOR TO OPEN
Numerous countries have legalised
gay marriage, including 16 in Europe,
two in the Americas, and just one in Af-
rica . Among them, 11 allow homosexu-
al marriage, and the rest have legalised
civil unions. Kees Waaldijk, Professor
of Comparative Sexual Orientation Law
in Holland, said the common trend of
the world was to expand the scope of
marriage regulations to include homo-
sexual couples and he hopes Vietnam
will be the first Asian country to allow
homosexual marriage.
However, gay marriage continues
to be a controversial issue. Dinh Cong
Khanh and Nguyen Thai Nguyen, two
Vietnamese Canadians who got married
in 2006, said that while they do visit Vi-
etnam, they have no intention of living
here because of the current law.
Dr. Nguyen Lan Phuong, a lecturer
at the Hanoi University of Law, believes
that not all homosexuals are genuine:
“Besides people whose genes deter-
mine their homosexual orientation,
there are several who just imitate and
pretend to be a homosexual to try a
strange way of living. When there is
no way to distinguish the two kinds,
we cannot make law adjustments. Ho-
mosexual people do not have a fault
with their sexual orientation - they need
sympathy and understanding from fam-
ily, friends and society. That means they
can live together, but marriage is a
different matter and should not be al-
lowed at the moment.”
Member of the Vietnam Lawyer As-
sociation, Trinh Le Thi Tram, believes we
should heed the traditional customs and
habits of Vietnam. Meanwhile, Vu Minh
Hong, member of the Democracy/Law
Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland
Front questions the raising of children
by homosexual couples: “Who should
the child call dad and who should be
called mum in that relationship? Is that
against the nature?” he asks.
The head of the Civil Law Depart-
ment points out that, allowed or not,
many homosexual couples are living to-
gether. “Prohibiting it is not a question
Equal rights for
HOMOSEXUALS
Homosexuals are still
discriminated against
in Vietnam, but the
Ministry of Health has
recently proposed legal-
ising same sex marriage,
signalling a major shift
in attitudes.