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From: Christoph Giebel
Date: Wed, Feb 11, 2009 at 1:29 PM
List --
I have been approached with a question about possible risks faced by homosexuals who are "out" in Southeast Asia. In this case, an openly gay man in Viet Nam.
Of particular interest would be:
• risks to physical safety and security as well as to mental and overall health;
* general social and cultural attitudes about homosexuality (e.g., innate v. "treatable sickness", social vice, etc.)
* specific social and cultural attitudes with harm potential for safety/security and health as well as human rights;
* institutional responses and systemic, incl. legal, discrimination;
* attitudes and possible actions by state and security authorities;
* existence or absence of GLBT support networks.
I would welcome any and all responses pertaining to Southeast Asia in general, and Viet Nam in particular. General responses, e.g., on literature, should be on-list. Specific and personal/confidential responses, of course, should be sent to me directly. Many thanks!
-- C. Giebel
UW-Seattle
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From: Daniel C. Tsang
Date: 2009/2/11
There is a flourishing gay scene in HCM city; and a huge and growing online community. The situation is similar to China's where there is a laissez-faire attitude legally as long as the state is not challenged.Unlike former British colonies, there is no law against sodomy, for example.
I have more info. but just initially, here are some research sources:
Two Vietnamese NGOs have done research in this area but also more generally on sexualities in VN:
Institute for Social Development Studies
http://www.isds.org.vn/FrontEnd/default.aspx
and
Consultation of Investment in Health Promotion
http://www.cihp.org/
They are also local hosts for a sexualities conference in Hanoi this April: "...The seventh biennial meeting of the International Association for the Study of Sexuality, Culture and Society (IASSCS), entitled “Contested Innocence – Sexual Agency in Public and Private Space.” This conference is co-hosted by the Institute for Social Development Studies, and the Consultation of Investment in Health Promotion, and co-sponsored by the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations.
http://www.iasscs.org/2009conference/
Their respective websites have links to publications (in Vietnamese and English).
In addition, an earlier report on Vietnamese sexualities appeared in Culture, Health & Society, Volume10 Supplement (June 2008), the issue called "Researching Sexuality and Health in Vietnam." Online (may be licensed access): http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=g792759978~db=all
For Southeast Asia, see: The South and Southeast Asia Resource Centre on Sexuality: http://tarshi.net/asiasrc/about_resource_centre.asp
Reports include one on Human Rights and the Criminalisation of Consensual Same-Sex Sexual Acts in the Commonwealth, South and Southeast Asia .
See the TARSHI publications page: http://tarshi.net/publications/publications_reports_papers.asp
dan
--
Daniel C. Tsang
Social Science Data Librarian
Bibliographer for Asian American Studies,
Economics, Political Science & Business (acting)
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From: Kirsten W. Endres
Date: 2009/2/12
The International Encyclopedia of Sexuality has a chapter on Vietnam that also contains a brief section on homosexuality, it can be downloaded from: http://www.kinseyinstitute.org/ccies/vn.php
Kirsten
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