Scenes at the Policy Dialogue on International Experiences & Consultation on the Draft Gender Affirmation Law organised in Hanoi on August 26. (Photo UN Women Vietnam) These amendments were proposed to the draft Gender Affirmation Law and werediscussed during the Policy Dialogue on International Experiences &Consultation on the Draft Gender Affirmation Law organised in Hanoi last week.
Eighty representatives from the National Assembly, Ministries, NGOs and UNorganisations gave their recommendations for the Gender Affirmation Law, whichwas drafted in June and is being amended by the Ministry of Health to presentto the National Assembly Standing Committee this year.
"To recognise, respect and protect human rights and citizens' rights isthe Party and the Government's consistent policy," said Nguyen Thi KimThuy, Deputy Chairwoman of the National Assembly's Social Committee.
"Although Vietnam made progress in ending LGBTQ discrimination, especially fortransgender people, when the right to change sex was recognised in 2015, theaffirmation and recognition of transgender people are currently not applicablein reality. The legal aspects must be improved to make access to social,education, medical and occupational services for transgender people fair,"said Thuy.
According to the Ministry of Health, there are currently 480,000 people in Vietnamwho are transgender. They face discrimination in many aspects of life.
Although the right to change sex in Vietnam has been recognised since 2015,very few transgender people are legally recognised.
Legally accepted sex change surgery in Vietnam, which is only available inhospitals such as Cho Ray and Bach Mai, requires the person to have a bodilypart that is not of their sex at birth. For example, men with uteruses orvaginas.
This led many Vietnamese transgender people to go abroad or to illegal medicalfacilities to implement sex change surgery. These surgeries, if not donecorrectly, can be fatal.
For those who travel to countries such as Thailand for sex change surgery, evenif the surgery is successful, their sex change is not legally recognised sincethe surgery was not conducted in Vietnam.
The draft Gender Affirmation Law, if finished and approved, could enabletransgender people to change and affirm their gender in Vietnam legally.
"The basic principles are to enable transgender people to live true tothemselves, to freely and voluntary access medical interventions, and denouncediscriminatory acts towards transgender people and their families," said PhamThi Hao, representative of the Ministry of Health Legal Department.
The Draft Gender Affirmation Law will enable transgender people to apply forrecognition without having undergone sex change surgery, and they can choose tohave sex change surgery or not.
Familial ties to parents and partners are kept intact, including fosterchildren. All certificates and diplomas' rights are kept, and transgenderpeople will be eligible to compete in sports. They are not obligated to besterilised in genital operations unless they want to.
Transgender people, according to the draft, should also be able to marry theirnew gender after recognition. Trans men, should they get pregnant, are eligiblefor maternity leave according to labour law and social insurance policies.
The draft also forbids human trafficking, sexual assault, and discriminativeacts against transgender people, such as expulsion from school or terminationof jobs due to being transgender.
Requirements for medical facilities to implement sex change surgery and hormonetherapy for sex change are also included in the draft, according to theMinistry of Health./.
VNA
