Tag: vietnam

How Thailand and Vietnam are moving on same-sex ‘marriage’

What exactly is happening in Thailand and Vietnam on law reform to recognize gay and lesbian relationships? Doug Sanders reports from Bangkok and Hanoi While the focus has been on gay marriage in the West, same-sex partnership rights have also been on the move in South East Asia. We examine progress in Thailand and Vietnam,… Read more »

On the road to legalising same-sex relationships: Thailand and Vietnam

What exactly is happening in Thailand and Vietnam on law reform to recognise same-sex relationships? Doug Sanders, back home in Thailand from two weeks in Hanoi, reports. Thailand In the fall of 2012, the issue of legal recognition for same-sex relationships was taken up by the Committee on Legal Affairs, Justice and Human Rights of… Read more »

VietPride 2013 to hit 12 cities countrywide in August

From Hai Phong to Can Tho, organisers of VietPride 2013 today announced a series of LGBT events that will take place in 12 cities across the country including in Ho Chi Minh City on Aug 24 and 25. The capital city of Hanoi saw some two hundred participants biking through its busy streets on August… Read more »

VIDEOS: Vietnam’s Pride March 2013

Video posts Video Themed ‘Strive with Pride’, Vietnam held its second pride march in Hanoi which reflected the growing LGBT community in the country and its determination to push for more equality rights. The three-day event featured film screenings, the unveiling of scholarships, the launching of an employment equality guidebook, and a bicycle rally attended… Read more »

Gay rights march ahead in South-East Asia

Hanoi – This weekend hundreds of people will pedal through Hanoi on bicycles to mark the country’s second gay pride parade. The scale of events across the country, from dance performances, film screenings and a book launch, reflects wider acceptance of debate on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues over the last year in… Read more »

Second Hanoi Viet Pride Festival to be held this August

Hanoi will host the second ever Viet Pride Festival for the second year in a row this August under the theme ‘Strive with Pride’ Vietnam will host its second LGBT pride festival in two years from 2-4 August. The organizers of the 2013 Viet Pride Festival in Hanoi are hopeful of building on the success… Read more »

Fifty shades of pink

Some countries consider gay marriage, but elsewhere attitudes harden On the last Saturday in June the centre of Singapore’s very sober business district turned distinctly pink. Lesbians, gay men and others converged there for the annual celebration of what organisers call the “Freedom to Love”, also known as the “Pink Dot”, in honour of the… Read more »

Who are the clients of male brothels?

Male prostitution in Vietnam has existed for a long time but their services, which are illegal in the nation, have not been publicly mentioned, especially by local media. Normally, contact information for rings and male prostitutes are passed from hand to hand among ‘clients’ in confidence to avoid their relations being revealed or commented on.… Read more »

A look inside male brothels

Male sex workers in Vietnamese brothels usually don’t ‘receive’ guests who are strange or have no recommendation from a certain acquaintance, as the service is banned here. So, the opportunity to visit these brothels is quite limited due to security measures, especially after police arrested two male prostitutes in a hotel in Ho Chi Minh… Read more »

On gay marriage, could Vietnam beat U.S.? Column

LGBT freedom no threat to communists. Hanoi — International human rights advocates rarely give communist authorities here a thumbs up. Vietnamese bloggers, folk singers and journalists are behind bars for deeds and words that in many countries are considered birthright freedoms. Yet in one respect, Vietnam’s powers-that-be seem open-minded. As the U.S. Supreme Court ponders… Read more »

UNDP commends Vietnamese government for addressing the struggles of LGBT citizens, their parents and friends

Speaking at Vietnam’s first National LGBT Community Dialogue, UNDP Country Director Louise Chamberlain acknowledged the efforts of the Vietnamese government to address the struggles of LGBT citizens and their parents, family and friends. Speaking at Vietnam’s first National LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) Community Dialogue held in Hanoi on June 5, United Nations Development… Read more »

Characteristics of a Sexual Network of Behaviorally Bisexual Men in Vientiane, Lao PDR, 2010.

Abstract Men who have sex with both men and women (behaviorally bisexual men) may be at increased risk of HIV acquisition and transmission due to risky sexual behaviors. We recruited a sexual network comprised of behaviorally bisexual men and their sexual partners in Vientiane, Lao PDR in 2010 to inform our understanding of the potential… Read more »

UN congratulates Vietnam on LGBT rights progress

UN’s resident co-ordinator in Vietnam praises the Southeast Asian nation’s LGBT rights achievements in the last year The UN has congratulated Vietnam on the progress of the LGBT rights movement in the Southeast Asian nation. ‘This is vital in order to be better understood, to reduce social prejudice and stigma based on sexual orientation and… Read more »

Vietnam gay sitcom becomes Internet smash

Hanoi — Vietnam’s first gay sitcom has become a YouTube sensation, racking up millions of views as support for legalising same-sex marriage strengthens within the communist government. Homosexuality was once seen as a social evil in Vietnam and the success of “My Best Gay Friends”, a low-budget series about three people sharing an apartment in… Read more »

Vietnam’s health ministry backs same-sex marriage

As lawmakers in Vietnam consider legalising same-sex marriage, the country’s health ministry has reportedly said that it believes same-sex marriage to be a human right and should be allowed by the state. Vietnam’s largest news newspaper Tuoi Tre reported in its English-version website today that the country’s health ministry has declared its support of same-sex… Read more »

Gay sitcom becomes unlikely hit in Vietnam

A sitcom portraying the lives and loves of a group of young gays and lesbians has become an unlikely nationwide hit in conservative, communist-run Vietnam. The first episode of “My Best Gay Friends” has now attracted over one million views on YouTube. The show’s success has come as a surprise in Vietnam, where gay and… Read more »

Sexual relationships among MSM in Hanoi, Vietnam: a qualitative interview study

The prevalence of HIV among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Vietnam may be more than 30 times higher than that among the general population. The aim of this study was to explore sexual relationship patterns and experiences among MSM in Hanoi, to inform HIV preventive efforts. Methods: Using purposive sampling we recruited… Read more »

2,000 visit same-sex love photo exhibition in Hanoi

Exhibition is latest success in equal rights group iSEE’s work supporting LGBT people in Vietnam A photography exhibition celebrating same-sex love has attracted thousands of visitors in Hanoi, Vietnam. The exhibition entitled Open – Equal – Love features work by Vietnamese photographer Maika Elan (see some of her photographs on a New York Times blog)… Read more »

Real Faces, Real People, Real Love in Vietnam

Maika Elan didn’t know what to expect two years ago when she knocked on doors at a popular hotel for gay and lesbian couples in Siem Riep, Cambodia. She was surprised when most of the guests — many of whom were foreigners — told her she was welcome to take their portraits. Ms. Elan, a… Read more »

Vietnam on right track to legalize same-sex marriages, but miles to go

They grabbed the paper, read it enthusiastically, but put it away quickly. The article about the government mulling over whether to allow same-sex couples to legally cohabitate failed to excite a group of gay men in Ho Chi Minh City. “This doesn’t really matter,” Nguyen Van Trung, a tour guide, told Vietweek. “We have been… Read more »

Gay male sex workers on rise in Vietnam

Government draws up action plan to tackle male prostitution in cities including Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang Gay male prostitution is on the increase in several cities across Vietnam, according to government officials. Le Van Quy, deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City Bureau for Social Evil Prevention, claims a growing number… Read more »

Vietnam trans video goes viral

LGBT rights group ICS show the people behind the stigmatizing term ‘pêdê’ in Vietnam A short film about trans women in Vietnam made by LGBT rights organization ICS has been watched over 200,000 times on YouTube. The film follows Yuki and her friends, showing the people behind the label ‘pêdê’ – the title of the… Read more »