Ban on key drugs endangers China’s transgender women

Transgender women in China are facing fresh obstacles after a government ban in December 2022 on onlines sale of cyproterone acetate, a widely used antiandrogen drug, and estradiol, a widely used estrogen drug. The ban on drugs needed for people who were born male to transition to female is driving trans Chinese women to the black market where they are vulnerable to being scammed, and has compounded a mental health crisis gripping the community.