Kissing a Person Under 16 Years of Age May Result in Imprisonment for the Crime of Child Molestation

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To be specific, according to the guidance content of this Resolution, Lewdness stipulated in Clause 1, Article 146 of the Criminal Code is the act of people of the same sex or different sex directly or indirectly physically touching, through the clothing layer, the genitals, sensitive parts, or other parts of the body of a person under 16 years old with a sexual nature but not for sexual intercourse, including one of the following acts:

- Using genitals, sensitive parts to touch (e.g., touching, rubbing, brushing...) the genitals, sensitive parts, or other parts of a person under 16 years old;

- Using other parts of the body (e.g., hands, feet, mouth, tongue...) to touch (e.g., caress, touch, squeeze, pinch, kiss, lick...) the genitals, sensitive parts of a person under 16 years old;

- Using sexual tools to touch (e.g., touching, rubbing, brushing...) the genitals, sensitive parts of a person under 16 years old;

- Luring or forcing a person under 16 years old to use other parts of their body to touch (e.g., caress, touch, squeeze, pinch, kiss, lick...) the sensitive parts of the offender or another person;

- Other acts of a sexual nature but not for sexual intercourse (e.g., kissing the mouth, neck, ears, nape... of a person under 16 years old).

Additionally, the Resolution also clearly stipulates that there will be no criminal prosecution under Article 146 of the Criminal Code for Lewdness against a person under 16 years old if it falls under one of the following cases:

- Direct caregivers, educators of a person under 10 years old, patients, or disabled people who have actions touching their genitals, sensitive parts but without sexual nature (for example, parents bathing or cleaning their child under 10 years old; kindergarten teachers bathing or cleaning pre-school children...);

- Healthcare providers who have actions touching the genitals, sensitive parts, or other parts of a person under 16 years old without sexual nature (e.g., doctors examining and treating patients; providing first aid, emergency care for accident victims, drowning victims...).

At the same time, there will be no criminal prosecution under Article 147 of the Criminal Code for Offenses of Using Persons under 16 Years Old for Pornographic Purposes in cases where educators, healthcare providers describe the genitals, sensitive parts of the human body for educational, medical examination and treatment purposes.

See more details at: Resolution 06/2019/NQ-HDTP effective on November 5, 2019.

Nguyen Trinh

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