No one had ever talked to her about sex: not her parents, not her teachers -- and her friends knew as little as she did.
Talking about sex is"sort of forbidden", says Linh Hoang, a 23-year-old on a mission to change outdated attitudes in a country unused to open discussion about sex or gender identity. Parents edge away from the topic of safe sex and society"has no idea what sex education is and how to do it," said Linh, who recalled her own biology teacher attempting to cover reproduction without explaining what sex was to a group of confused 13-year-olds.
For decades, Vietnam enforced a two-child policy but had little comprehensive information on reproductive health and no access to free family planning services. By 2019, the official figure had dropped to 12, although the UNFPA says the actual number is thought to be higher given a quarter of abortions take place in private practices.
He spoke on the sidelines of a sex ed class at Hanoi school, where teens were urged to discuss everything from masturbation and STDs to contraception.A report by Human Rights Watch in February said that Vietnam's sex education policies and practices fell short of international standards, and were silent on LGBT issues.