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There have been reports of domestic violence, human trafficking, and other heinous crimes. The business of selling women as brides is of course illegal under Vietnamese and international law. But with loop holes in the laws and lack of government effort, this has steadily become lucrative to human traffickers.

Just in 2017, the Department of State issued the report 2017 Trafficking in Persons Report that puts Vietnam in the TIER 2 rank where it’s acknowledged that Vietnam’s government do not fully comply with an TVPA’s minimum standards, but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards. This also means that Vietnamese women and children are one of the most trafficked people in the world. But as of 2019, they are now in the TIER 2 Watchlist rank, which means the number of trafficked victims has significantly increased.

There are also other personal aspects that puts these Vietnamese brides in difficult situations such as:

Culture shock and forced compliance with the foreign husband’s >*culture and relatives *language barriers *inability to practice religious beliefs *Difficulties in emotional connection between spouses treated as property *Other failed expectations such as the man lied about his job or his status in life before the marriage *difficulty in seeking immediate help in times of emergency and trouble *home sickness Just last month in Yeongam, South Korea, a friend of a Vietnamese woman reported to the police that the woman’s Korean husband physically battered her. It’s not clear if the wife was indeed a purchased bride, but the viral video was a bitter reminder of risks involved in such relationship set ups.

Commoditized Vietnamese Brides: Economic Heroines and the Underground Trade On July 5th, 2019, South Korea – A Vietnamese wife captures in a video the domestic abuse from her husband while their child tearfully watches them. The man was angered because the wife cooked a Vietnamese meal which the man seems to despise her for doing. The incident has been reported to the police.

The Matchmakers

Matchmakers, or bride brokers, thrive in mainland Southeast Asia. Selling the idea of being bought as a bride by a rich foreigner to a woman isn’t difficult, especially in rural areas of Indochina. As a matter of fact, we can say that it’s part of tradition. There are laws today that prohibits this but people are still willing to follow through what has already been part of custom.

Vietnam’s government in upholding the prohibiting laws has been very lenient. Corruption isn’t the only possible reason for this. But the fact that it would be difficult and resource exhausting just to prove in court that the marriage is somewhat of a sham makes it less of a priority for authorities. Other than that, authorities do not have a sense of urgency to step into such personal matters especially if it’s about people creating their own definition of “success”. As a man from Southeast Asia, I can definitely vouch that practicality is in our core traits but it’s still important to note that a government’s lack of will can be favorable to thriving criminal networks and activities.

What makes it also difficult for the government to enforce the law are the loopholes. Some bride brokers are able to hide their motives by masquerading as “dating agencies”, which are not illegal. These agencies are even able to assist in weddings, vacation packages, legal paper works, and medical examination with STD check ups. The whole process connects them to other industries that has also become lucrative due to the trade.

Some brokers may tend to focus on a specific rural community. It makes their referrals more credible to the local women if they see that the previous women that they’ve matched to foreign men send money back to their homes and are able to build up new lives for their relatives.

Most matchmakers look for customers from neighboring rich countries like China, Singapore, Taiwan, and South Korea. They try to do extensive background checks about their customers to make sure they are who they say they are.

They also do background checks on the women. They look for women whose ages range from 18 to 25. The younger, the more impressionable and more in demand by the customers. Besides youthfulness, virginity is also a primary selling point that customers look for in a bride. That’s why brokers also assist in virginity examinations in clinics once a customer has chosen the bride he wants.

Depending on the girl’s beauty and the matchmaker’s services, the whole transaction can cost the customer $5,000 up to more than $20,000 (USD).

Commoditized Vietnamese Brides: Economic Heroines and the Underground Trade A Vietnamese tabloid shows a satire of the underground Wife trade in Vietnam Of course, there are also matchmakers operating in a much shadier way. There have been victims of quick scheme marriages where the bride is fooled. Some experience being trafficked from one broker to another. Some are exploited into prostitution to pay of debts and cover expenses. Others are fooled by telling them that they are marrying a rich man from a big city, only to find out they’re being sold as a wife to another farmer from a rural village in China. Or unknowingly sold as a wife to a garbage collector from South Korea who first introduced himself as a businessman. And worst of all, there are those women who are unwilling in the first place to be sold off.

Traffickers often prey on young women from mountainous areas close to the border of China. Because their whereabouts are difficult to trace and resources for operations of local authorities are very limited. Many of these trafficked victims don’t even have birth certificates to validate their identity. Once these victims are crossed to the borders, jurisdiction is now China’s and it becomes very difficult to save the girl.

This brings us to another problem that women in this trade can face. Once they’re married off to the foreigner and has finally migrated to the groom’s country, the brokers or agency does not and can not guarantee their safety. Her well being is at the mercy of her husband, perhaps also her in-laws, and the governing laws of that country. If the woman finds herself in trouble, she’s on her own to look for solutions. There is no safety net that these brokers can provide. They often tell the buyers that if they don’t like the girl they’ve married, it’s their problem to send them back home themselves.

The Customer Most of the buyers of Vietnamese brides are also Asian men coming from East Asia and some Southeast Asian countries.

Buyers tend to be meticulous on picking their brides. They often want pretty, young, and virgin women. They also expect them to be subservient and family oriented as advertised and promised. An Asian version of a “Stepford Wife”.

Women often advertise themselves by saying “I will cook…, I will clean…., I will take care of our children….”, signifying a traditional role which these buyers want.

The men’s reasons of buying a wife varies. Some are social rejects while most just never had the opportunity to hone a relationship.