4,500 Vietnamese trafficked in last 5 years

• Trafficking of Vietnamese women for sex and marriage expands across region: expert

From 2011 to 2015, Vietnam detected 2,200 cases of human trafficking, jumping 11.6 percent from the previous five-year period. Police arrested some 3,300 offenders and rescued more around 4,500 victims.

Major General Nguyen Phong Hoa, deputy director of Vietnam’s General Department of Police, said that the crime has taken place in all 63 cities and provinces; and now men, fetuses and human organs are being targeted, rather than only women and children.

“There was a case in the southern province of Can Tho where 75 men were tricked and sold to mine owners in China,” Hoa said.

Apart from the substantial profits, Hoa attributed the problem to naivety, loose immigration management and a lack of human resources to fight traffickers.

Colonel Le Van Chuong, a senior official at the Ministry of Public Security, also shared the same opinion, adding that most victims often come from rural areas, where economic conditions have yet to develop. In addition, Vietnamese women who wish to marry rich foreign men are also prime targets.

Last year, Vietnam identified some 1,000 trafficking-prone victims, but there were no data about how many were subjected to sex or labor trafficking, how many were adults or children, or how many were exploited in Vietnam or abroad. Victim identification and referral mechanisms remained inadequate throughout the country.

According to a representative of United Nations, Vietnam should conduct research into human trafficking on a national scale to establish a basis for more a in-depth study in the future to find ways of stopping the illegal trade.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc recently earmarked July 30 as Vietnam's Anti-Human Trafficking Day.

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