Vietnam has advised its physicians that homosexuality is not a sickness and has urged them to stop discriminating against the LGBTQ population.
Gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals have long felt excluded in this Southeast Asian country, and the declaration, according to activists, represents a significant advancement for LGBTQ rights.
The health ministry said that “homosexuality cannot be ‘treated,’ does not need to be ‘to be cured,’ and cannot be transformed” in an official document that was published last week.
Following stories of physicians saying they could treat gender minorities, it advised medical practitioners to be “respectful” of gender and sexual orientation.
It said, “Do not see homosexuality, bisexuality, or gender identity as an illness.”
Although compared to some other Asian nations, Vietnam is considered as being more progressive on LGBTQ issues, there is still a lot of ignorance regarding sexual orientation and gender identity.
Human Rights Watch reported in 2020 that some kids are being told that being homosexual is a mental disease by both schools and parents.
According to Nguyen Thi Kim Dung, an official at the Vietnamese Center for Supporting Community Development Initiatives, some parents of young LGBTQ persons take them to physicians in an effort to “treat” them.
Many people were deterred from seeking medical exams because they were asked prejudiced questions during routine consultations, she said.
Nevertheless, she said that this “is an official recognition to LGBT individuals that they have the right to go to medical facilities, and that they have the right to be treated equally.”
In 2015, Vietnam ended its prohibition on same-sex partnerships, but the country has not yet passed the long-promised legislation that would permit legal gender transitions.