How human traffickers lure victims in Vietnam

From 2018 to 2022, around 440 cases of human trafficking were busted in Vietnan, with over 1,200 victims involved, and women accounting for 58%, the Ministry of Public Security reported at a Monday session by the Judiciary Committee.

Among the cases, 19 involved sexual exploitation, 132 labor exploitation, and four human organ trade.

While 85% of human trafficking cases from 2012 to 2020 involved people trafficked to foreign countries, the number of human trafficking cases within Vietnam has been on the rise in recent years, accounting for up to 50% of all cases.

Mai Thi Phuong Hoa, deputy head of the committee, said men were also being trafficked, for the purpose of labor exploitation on fishing vessels.

The trafficking of infants is sometimes masked as charitable activities, and fetuses are also being trafficked, she said.

“Vietnam is not only where criminals originated from, but also a human trafficking hub from certain countries in the region to a third country,” Hoa added.

A rising ploy to lure victims is the promise of easy jobs with high incomes, where victims are then forced to do illegal work outside the country. Those who want to return to Vietnam often have to pay a large sum of money, which can be as much as US$10,000, the committee said.

Another ploy is promising victims simple procedures to get married, sign up for adoption or travel. Once victims get out of Vietnam, their personal papers are seized and sold, and they are forced to work abroad illegally.

Over the past four years, authorities have rescued 352 victims of human trafficking and received 545 victims who managed to return.

Vietnam, with its long border and high number of border gates and paths, makes human trafficking complex and inhumane, involving the cooperation of forces inside and outside the country.

Unemployment and potentially very high earnings have turned many to human trafficking, the committee said.

International mechanisms for fighting human trafficking between Vietnam and certain countries are not comprehensive, and discrepancies on exactly what constitutes human trafficking have delayed or suspended several investigations.

The committee has requested the National Assembly to consider adding a law against human trafficking to its 2024 agenda, the government to promote local jobs to prevent workers from illegally traveling abroad for work, and the public security ministry to create agreements on criminal extradition.