Rising Child Sexual Abuse in Vietnam (2020–2024): Law, Practice and Urgent Reform to Protect Children's Rights

Child sexual abuse (CSA) continues to be a significant and evolving child protection issue in Vietnam, with serious consequences for children's health, development and rights. This study examines Vietnam's legal frameworks for preventing and responding to CSA through doctrinal analysis and descriptive administrative statistics. Drawing on international children's rights norms, the article examines the Penal Code, Law on Children and procedural safeguards, distinguishing the 2020–2024 reporting period from subsequent legislative developments. The analysis considers age‐related coverage and offence pathways for technology‐facilitated abuse. National statistics record investigation initiation, Procuracy handling and prosecution, court handling and discontinuation and cases brought to trial. Recorded trial cases rose from 1412 in 2020 to 2185 in 2024; Article 145 was the largest trial category. These counts do not establish population prevalence, victim's age distribution, technology involvement or comparative enforcement effectiveness. The article relates the legal analysis and these bounded findings to contextual prevention, safe disclosure, child‐centred proceedings and recovery support.