This is a notable provision stipulated in the Draft Law on Gender Transition 2019 currently being solicited for public opinion by the Ministry of Health.
Article table of contents
The right to gender transition has been in effect since January 01, 2017, and is stipulated in Article 37 of the Civil Code 2015. To date, this regulation has been concretized in the Draft Law on Gender Transition 2019.
The Draft clearly states that a transgender person is someone with fully developed biological sex, having a gender identity different from the sex assigned at birth, and importantly, has undergone medical intervention to transition. When registering for civil status change, the transgender individual needs certification of having undergone medical intervention for gender transition.
Medical intervention for gender transition includes either or all of the processes from hormone therapy to chest surgery, and genital surgery.
Transgender individuals undergoing medical intervention must be over 18 years old, single, in good health, and not contraindicated for hormone therapy.
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However, the requirement that a transgender person must have undergone medical intervention, specifically surgery, has received much dissent from the transgender community. Many only wish for legal recognition of their gender, allowing them to change their names and gender in identification documents to match their new gender. Furthermore, gender transition surgery is very costly, and not many can meet this condition.
Therefore, the Ministry of Health has clarified and sent to the Government of Vietnam, adding provisions for transgender individuals who do not need surgery but still gain legal recognition, which includes:
- Having a certification of psychological assessment determining a gender different from current biological sex;- The transgender person has undergone hormone therapy for at least 2 years.
Detailed contents can be viewed at the Draft Law on Gender Transition 2019.
