Rape of transsexual woman stirs legal debate
Last updated: 8/27/2010 7:25
http://www.thanhniennews.com/2010/Pages/20100827224545.aspxThe rape of a transgender woman in the north-central province of Quang Binh has sparked a serious debate among legal professionals after judicial authorities declined to prosecute the three perpetrators.
The German Press Agency dpa quoted officials in the province as saying the victim had not reclassified her legal gender from male to female on Wednesday, August 25. Because Vietnamese law only applies to the rape of women by men, the case could not be prosecuted, they said.
"The laws don't regulate how to deal with this case, so even if the group raped her ten times, we would not be able to sentence them," Nguyen Van Thin, chief judge of the provincial People's Court, told dpa.
