Türkiye

Since the rise to power of current president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the country has shifted gears from progress to increasing authoritarianism. Thousands of academics, opposition politicians, journalists, and civil society activists have been detained and imprisoned in recent years. Civil society organizations have been shut down, and freedom of assembly has been violently suppressed. LGBTIQ people have been a particular target of this increasing hostility, with political leaders spurring hatred. For instance, the head of the Turkish Directorate of Religious Affairs stated in April 2020 that homosexuality causes HIV and “brings illnesses and corrupts generations,” leading to a series of anti-LGBTIQ campaigns. There have been bans, attacks, and escalating crackdowns on Pride in Turkey, with the first attempt in 1993 and resuming in 2015, with crackdowns every year since. Turkish police have consistently and violently clamped down on Pride marchers—using tear gas, rubber bullets, and pepper spray and detaining people—but the 2022 crackdown was by far the worst on record. In 2022, LGBTIQ activists in Turkey reported that the government banned 10 events and arrested 530 LGBTIQ people and rights defenders within 37 days. In 2023, the police attacked and detained participants in Pride events in six provinces. Instances of bias-motivated violence and human rights violations against LGBTIQ people have also soared.

*Outright research indicates that the bodily autonomy of intersex people is not respected and protected in this country.