Islamists are easily channeling gender anxieties into all-out attack.
The current state of LGBT+ rights in Turkey is complex and challenging. While there has been some progress in the last 20 years, LGBT+ individuals still face legal challenges and discrimination not experienced by non-LGBT+ residents[1]. There is no anti-discrimination law to protect LGBT+ persons from discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity[2]. Here are some key points from the search results:
– LGBT+ individuals in Turkey face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT+ residents, and the general climate for LGBT+ people is considered to be less repressive when compared to most other Muslim-majority countries[1].
– There are thirteen legally registered organizations in Turkey, and although the government has applied to the prosecutor’s offices to close down the organizations claiming that they are against morality, none of the organizations have been closed[2].
– Article 26 of the Turkish Constitution guarantees the freedom of expression of every citizen, but there is no specific statement to guarantee the right of LGBT+ persons to express themselves freely in terms of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. Therefore, publications on LGBT+ persons can be easily considered “immoral” or “obscene” and are often censored[2].
– The situation of LGBT+ persons in Turkey seems negative, and there is a progression of LGBT+ rights in the last 20 years[2].
– The government has been cracking down on LGBT+ rights activism and freedom of expression, taking measures to undermine freedom of expression, association, and assembly for those endorsing or allegedly endorsing pro-LGBT+ rights speech[3]. The government has also censored media and fined outlets positively portraying or allegedly positively portraying LGBT+ people[3].
– President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has frequently attacked LGBTQ+ people, referring to them as “deviants” and saying they were “spreading like the plague”[2][4]. He has accused every party in Turkey’s opposition coalition of being LGBT+ [4].
– Attacks against trans people are not rare in Turkey, and transgender people frequently face violent attacks that go unpunished[1][5]. According to a study by Pink Life, a Turkish transgender association, 54 transgender people have been killed in Turkey since 2008[1][5].
– Turkish authorities’ persistent efforts to sequester LGBT+ rights as a cultural matter—a threat to moral, religious, and family values—obfuscates the bigger picture: the political[3].
– The Europe branch of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association ranked Turkey second to last, ahead of only Azerbaijan, in its 2021 review of 49 European countries’ LGBT+ rights records[5].
Citations:
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Turkey
[2] https://www.lgbti-era.org/content/turkey
[3] https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/08/02/pride-month-turkey-showcased-homophobia-resistance
[4] https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/may/12/lgbt-recep-tayyip-erdogan-targets-gay-trans-rights-critical-turkish-election
[5] https://www.voanews.com/a/turkey-s-anti-lgbtq-display-reflects-nation-s-political-shift/6760131.html
By Perplexity at https://www.perplexity.ai/search/eaa39462-8938-4181-817e-924b9099208e
The District Governorship of Datça, located in Turkey’s most southwestern point, has declared a prohibition on all scheduled events as part of the annual Pride Week celebrations.
Students at 9 Eylül University in İzmir, western Turkey, were met with a heavy police presence as they gathered for a picnic organized by the Direniş Renkleri (Resistance Colors) group. According to reports, police closely monitored the students as they entered the campus, with patrol cars tailing the bus carrying the students.
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