Human rights organisations have condemned a draconian proposal by Turkey’s government to criminalise LGBTQ+ people and those who support them. Campaigners warn this would be one of the country’s most severe rollbacks of rights in decades.
A leaked draft of the government’s so-called 11th Judicial Package, an omnibus reform bill, reveals plans to amend Turkey’s penal and civil codes to target LGBTQ+ people.
Under the guise of protecting ‘public morality’ and ‘the family institution’, the proposed amendments would criminalise “attitudes or behaviours contrary to biological sex and general morality,” including their “promotion.” Those convicted could face up to three years in prison.
The law would also criminalise participation in same-sex engagement or marriage ceremonies, with penalties of up to four years in prison, despite same-sex marriage already being illegal in Turkey. Civil society groups, journalists, and media outlets covering LGBTQ+ issues could also be prosecuted under the proposed measures.
Gender-Affirming Healthcare Targeted
One provision would restrict access to gender-affirming healthcare, raising the minimum age from 18 to 25, requiring multiple state-approved medical evaluations, and mandating permanent infertility for surgical procedures. Both transgender people seeking care and healthcare professionals providing it could face up to seven years in prison.
“Bringing criminal charges against people for their gender identity or sexual orientation is a profound violation of human dignity and amounts to state-sanctioned oppression,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia Director at Human Rights Watch (HRW).
“The Turkish government should drop plans to introduce these amendments, which blatantly violate international law and would leave LGBT people in constant fear of arrest and prosecution.”
Fifteen LGBTQ+ organisations in Turkey have voiced grave concern about the proposed legislation, warning that it would strip them of basic freedoms and undermine democracy. The Turkish Medical Association also condemned the plan, stressing that access to healthcare should never be criminalised.
A Violation of European Human Rights
HRW noted that the proposals blatantly contradict Turkey’s obligations under international law, including the European Convention on Human Rights.
“This is a defining test of Turkey’s respect for rule of law and fundamental democratic principles on rights and equality,” Williamson warned. “The European Union and Council of Europe and their member states should use all diplomatic and political channels to ensure this regressive draft law, which would put LGBT people in Turkey in grave danger, is abandoned.”
Dinushika Dissanayake, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Europe, added: “These proposals present a grave threat to the rights of LGBTI people and those who advocate for LGBTI rights and they must never see the light of day.”
Turkey currently ranks 47th out of 49 countries on ILGA-Europe’s Rainbow Map, which measures LGBTQ+ rights protections in Europe. The country’s right-wing authoritarian president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has publicly attacked the queer community, claiming that the “traditional family” is under threat from what he described as the “LGBT plague” and “LGBT perversion”.
In June, police arrested 54 people when they attempted to hold a Pride event in Istanbul, which has been banned in the city since 2015.
