A 68-page photo book titled “In my eyes” featuring the lives of transgender people in Vietnam and how they work to earn a living was released at a namesake seminar held in Ho Chi Minh City on October 24.

The book is the product supported by ICS Center, the organization promoting and protecting LGBT (Lesbian – Gay – Bisexual and Transgender) rights in Vietnam and the humanitarian agency CARE Vietnam which helped the transgender people take photos of themselves from March to August, 2013.

“In my eyes” offers real stories given by the insiders, from their happiness to be themselves to the sorrow of suffering heavy social discrimination.

A group of transgender people who took the photos also came to the event and shared their thoughts.

Lo Lo - founder of “Living my Life” group that works to propagandize HIV and sexual health for LGBT community - proudly shared that her photos depict her pride of transgender friends who are enthusiastic in social works to protect the community from HIV/AIDS.

On the other hand, Cat Thy, a trans woman who work as a performer at funerals and weddings expressed transgender people’s difficulties in her pictures.

“I wanted to take the photos and show people the reality that we, transgender people as well as LGBT community, are in need of jobs though we are able to do everything that normal people do,” Thy said. “When I took the camera to my workplace, people disregarded me and wondered where I stole the camera from,” she emotionally spoke.

Also at the seminar, a study titled "Sinh Ke Cua Nguoi Chuyen Gioi” (Transgender people’ livelihoods) by the Institute for Studies of Society, Economy and Environment (iSEE) was announced. The study was carried out in one month, in the form of an online survey with 223 trans women and interviews with 18 trans women.

The study shows that 21.08% participants had jobs in the past but are jobless currently, 35% of participants was eliminated when applying for jobs due to their transgender appearance and 52% expressed they were unsatisfied with their jobs due to low income.

“The most alarming reality from our study is that almost all transgender people try their best but most still can’t find a job,” Doctor Pham Quynh Phuong, head of iSEE, told Tuoitrenews.

According to the study, transgender people in Vietnam are stuck in a matrix of obstacles. Most of them quit high school due to discrimination, that’s why they can’t find a good job, then they have to do jobs that are held in low regard by society like performing at funerals and thus continue to be looked down on.

“The root of those people’s difficulties is social discrimination. If society can understand them, discrimination will be decreased, and transgender people can have more chances to at least finish high school. Then better prospects with better jobs will open to them.”