Vietnam’s Trans Community Relies on the Black Market for Hormones

Many trans people in Vietnam buy their hormones illegally from Thailand and self-medicate, but they’re hoping the government will change its laws soon.

Many of Vietnam’s trans community are turning to the black market to buy hormone medication.

Hormone replacement therapy and gender reassignment surgery are not legal in Vietnam. Many trans people have resorted to buying bootlegged drugs from neighbouring Thailand.

Huynh Nha An, 21, self-prescribes and injects hormones to stop her facial hair growing back. Every month she must decide whether she will spend her minimum wage on hormones or food.  She relies on advice from her friends about how much medication she should take and how often.

‘When I don’t use hormones regularly I turn back into a boy, I’m no longer smooth like a girl,’ she told the AFP.

In 2015, Vietnam updated its laws to recognise the true gender of people who had undergone gender reassignment surgery. But the surgery is still banned in the country, so many travel abroad to have it.