Lack of Services Put Transgender Lives at Risk In Burkina Faso

Many transgender people in the conservative West African nation self-medicate with hormonal drugs due to a lack of specialist healthcare, writes Sam Mednick for the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Lawyer Prosper Farama said openly LGBT+ people can be prosecuted under legislation on indecent assault or the violation of morality, facing penalties of up to five years in prison.

Additionally, trans people in particular are at risk of arrest for identity theft because the personal details on their ID cards do not match their physical appearance, said Ismael Cisse, head of local LGBT+ group Association Vision Plurielle. "Transgender people prefer to go to community medical centres or even outside the country for their health problems," Cisse said. "These community health centres lack adequate technical facilities for holistic care and some of their doctors have not received all the capacity building necessary for this care," he added.

Self-medication is part of a much larger issue facing the transgender community of Burkina Faso - a lack of protection by the state. "I'd like to (transition) but not in Burkina, otherwise, I'll put my life at risk," said one respondent who six years ago self-medicated with hormones for a year but stopped because she started having palpitations. She was also attacked on the street.