According to a recent survey, 87% of Vietnamese girls and women have experienced sexual harassment in public places.

87% of Vietnamese females sexually harassed in public 

The survey was conducted by the three organisations, ActionAid, Research Centre for Gender, Family and Environment in Development and Plan on 2,046 people in Hanoi and HCM City. The results indicated that 57% Vietnamese females consider streets the most risky place to be sexually harassed, while 31% of those interviewed had experienced harassment on the bus.

Meanwhile, 40% of respondents said that they have seen women being harassed, and 47% of teenagers said that they had repeatedly witnessed harassment. Another surprise was that these witnesses appear to be largely passive, with 65% of men asked saying do not intervene or try to stop harassment they see on the bus.

Some experts have suggested that, besides improving public lighting and transport systems, it is necessary to clearly define sexual harassment in the legal code to better protect women.

The situation is made worse by the attitude of many that sexual harassment is normal and there is no punishment for many forms of sexual harassment in Vietnamese law.