Improving the law on handling workplace sexual harassment in Vietnam from legislative experience in several countries

Abstract

SH in the workplace is a legal violation that infringes on the dignity, health, and fundamental women's rights and should be strongly condemned and severely punished. However, SH behaviours at work are not yet considered a crime in Vietnam. These behaviours are only currently subject to administrative or disciplinary liability despite the severe damage they cause to victims, employers, and society. In addition, some legal provisions dealing with SH behavior in Vietnam are incomplete and need to be improved. Therefore, within the scope of this article, we analyse the legal basis for sanctions on SH in the workplace in several countries around the world, including Vietnam. We then present some limitations and propose recommendations to improve the law on this issue as follows: Firstly, severe criminal sanctions are essential to deter offenders and ensure robust enforcement. Secondly, perfecting the law on handling administrative violations of SH at work in Decree 12/2022/ND-CP. Thirdly, establishing a statistical database on the situation of SH in the workplace and its resolution is crucial. This database would facilitate reporting to international organizations, evaluate the effectiveness of law enforcement on SH prevention, and monitor violations at various levels. Furthermore, Vietnam should establish a Complaints Committee under the provincial labor agency, similar to the model in India, to resolve cases of SH by business owners and cases where domestic workers are victims. Recognizing the significant cultural barrier where Vietnamese victims often remain silent due to fear, shame, job security concerns, retaliation, isolation, and familial impact, strategies to encourage reporting are necessary. These strategies include educating victims about their rights not to be sexually harassed in the workplace and increasing victim compensation by allocating state fines to them.