Ho Chi Minh City aims to pilot a model enhancing access to social services for prostitutes to assist them in quitting the trade and re-integrating into the community.

A workshop was held in the city on January 7 to discuss the implementation of the plan, which intends to raise the awareness and understanding of gender equality, domestic violence, and intervention measures against HIV and sexually transmitted diseases.

Deputy Director of the Municipal Department of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs Huynh Thanh Khiet said prostitution in the city has been on the rise and is becoming increasingly complicated over recent years.

He suggested increasing anti-prostitution measures while simultaneously making social services available for sex workers.

The city has piloted other models to help prostitutes integrate into the community, such as vocational trainings, job placement and health care services, he noted.

The project to improve access to social services for sex workers is being carried out in Ho Chi Minh City, southern Can Tho city, and northern Quang Ninh province between 2014 and 2017, with a total cost of nearly 6 billion VND (285,000 USD) funded by the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs and the International Care in Vietnam.-VNA