In August police in Vietnam uncovered an infant trafficking ring which had purchased and resold at least 16 infants, ages ranging from just days to a few months old, leading to further investigations that uncovered 84 suspected trafficking cases across 32 provinces.

In this episode, we delve into the harrowing realities of human trafficking in Vietnam. For more than two decades the country has been a source, destination, and transit point, with a troubling score of 7 out of 10 on the Global Organized Crime Index. Criminal actors involved include local recruitment agencies, family members and acquaintances of victims, and foreign actors such as Chinese and Korean ‘bride recruitment’ brokers. Criminals are increasingly professional, and form closed interprovincial, transnational and international networks.

Vietnam's resilience to human trafficking, more specifically, Victim and Witness Support and especially Non-State Actors scores were critically low in the 2023 OC Index assessment.

Presenter: Thin Lei Win

Speaker(s): Hai Thanh Luong, Research Fellow, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Griffith University

Links

Vietnam Country Profile

The Global Organized Crime Index

Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime