LGBT rights in Turkey

The human rights of LGBT people in Turkey is one of the more controversial human rights issues in Turkey. As Turkey is a Muslim majority country, but a secular republic, and currently in accession talks with the European Union, homosexuality is not illegal. But despite the widespread veneration received by famous and well-respected gay and transgender artists like Zeki Müren and Bülent Ersoy over the years, an open expression of homosexuality by ordinary people remains somehow a taboo topic in public opinion.Fact|date=February 2007 Starting from the 1990s, recent years saw the active efforts of several civil rights groups, which ask for better recognition and anti-discrimination laws.

History

Turkish LGBT rights activists created the Radical Democrat Green Party to campaign for on a left-wing Green platform that included support for LGBT human rights. Several of its members participated in a hunger strike in 1987 to protest the police harassment of LGBT citizens.

In 1988 the civil code was amended to allow for transgender people to have a sex change operation, under medical approval. In the 1990s the LGBT movement fought against government bans on LGBT conferences. This prompted the creation of "Lambda Istanbul". In 1994, the Freedom and Solidarity Party banned discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity within the party and nominated Demet Demir, a leading voice of the community, [cite news
url=http://www.sptimes.com/2003/01/17/Floridian/A_city_comes_out.shtml
accessdate=2008-08-20
title=Floridian: A city comes out
work=St. Petersburg Times
date=2003-01-17
first=Susan Taylor
last=Martin] to successfully become the first transgendered candidate for the local council elections in Istanbul.

In 1996 The Supreme Court overturned a lower court's ruling and removed a child from her lesbian parent, on the grounds that homosexuality is immoral. While bias motivated violence against gay and transgender people intensified as did efforts at government censorship, the desire of Turkey to join the European Union has forced the government to grant official recognition to LGBT rights organizations, respect a greater degree of the freedom of speech and the press and to entertain gay rights legislation. Gay themed conferences and gatherings now regularly take place, particularly in Istanbul and Ankara. In 2006 Turk Gay Club,Turk LGBT Community was created in Istanbul by 17 LGBT People and Several universities have LGBT associations.

LGBT civil rights organizations

The major LGBT community-based civil rights organization is KAOS GL, established in 1994 in Ankara. "Lambda Istanbul", a member of ILGA-Europe, established in 1993 in Istanbul, was dissolved in May 2008. The prosecution argued that its name and activities were “against the law and morality.” The ruling has been criticized by Human Rights Watch [http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/06/02/turkey18990.htm Turkey: Court Shows Bias, Dissolves Lambda Istanbul] , "Human Rights Watch", June 2, 2008 en icon] .

During the early 1990s, the organizations' proposals for cooperation were refused by the Government Human Rights Commission. April 1997, when members of "Lambda Istanbul" were invited to the National Congress on AIDS, marked the first time a Turkish LGBT organization was represented at the government level. During early 2000s, new organizations began to be formed in cities other than Istanbul and Ankara, like the "Pink Triangle Group" in İzmir and the "Rainbow Group" in Antalya.

In 1996, another LGBT organization, LEGATO, was founded as an organization of Turkish university students, graduates and academicians, with its first office in Middle East Technical University in Ankara. The organization continued to grow with other branches in numerous other universities and a reported 2000 members. In March 2007 LGBT students organized for the first time as a student club (gökkuşağı - in English: rainbow) and Club Gökkuşağı is officially approved by Bilgi University.

During June 2003, the first public LGBT pride march in Turkey's history, organized by "Lambda Istanbul", was held on the Istiklal Avenue. In July 2005, KAOS GL applied to the Ministry of Interior Affairs and gained legal recognition, becoming the first LGBT organization of the country with legal status. During the September of the same year, a lawsuit by the Governor of Ankara was filed to cancel this legal status, but the demand was rejected by the prosecutor. In August 2006, the gay march in Bursa organized by the "Rainbow Group", officially approved by the Governor's Office, was cancelled due to large scale public protests by an organized group of citizens.

The organizations actively participate in AIDS-HIV education programs and May Day parades.

In September 2005, the Ankara Governor’s Office accused KAOS-GL of “establishing an organization that is against the laws and principles of morality.” It also attempted in July 2006 to close the human rights group Pembe Hayat (Pink Life), which works with transgender people, claiming to prosecutors that the association opposed “morality and family structure.” . Both charges were ultimately dropped .

In 2006 "Lambda Istanbul" was evicted from its premises as the landlady was not happy with the fact that the organization was promoting LGBT rights. The organization was then dissolved in May 2008 by courts .

Law

Penal code

Gay sexual conduct between consenting adults in private is not a crime in Turkey. The age of consent for both heterosexual and homosexual sex is 18. The criminal code also has vaguely worded prohibitions on "public exhibitionism,” and “offenses against public morality" that are used to harass gay and transgender people.

Turkish towns and cities are given some leeway to enact various "public morality" laws. For example, It was once reported that in Adana males were prohibited from kissing in public, on the cheek. However, there has been no evidence of enforcement of this regulation. Men kissing as a form of greeting is common in Turkey. Istanbul has a very open gay scene with around 20 bars and clubs plus various other venues such as cinemas and Turkish baths. Gay bars have been used to shoot pop videos and celebrities can often be spotted there. Turkish artists tend to have sympathies with gays, particularly in recent years.

Article 428 prohibits "obscene" and "indecent" books, songs, literature, etc. [cite news|url=http://www.interpol.int/public/Children/SexualAbuse/NationalLaws/csaTurkey.asp
accessdate=2008-08-20
title=Turkey
page=V. Child pornography: Article 428 of the Turkish Criminal Code
work=Legislation of INTERPOL member states on sexual offences against children|date=2008-08-20
publisher=Interpol] Although the extent that these conditions apply to homosexual themes in the media has been liberalized in recent years. The film Brokeback Mountain was permitted to be shown in select theaters, but the Turkish Culture Ministry ruled that no one under the age of eighteen could be in the audience. [cite news|url=http://www.washblade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=5659
accessdate=2008-08-20
title=Turkey restricts viewing of 'Brokeback'
work=Associated Press
publisher=Washington Blade
date=2006-03-16] It should be noted that age limits applied to Brokeback Mountain in many countries. Several books with gay themes have been published recently including 'Volkan's story' - about a gay policeman. Bestsellers often include gay characters. In 1997, was released. The film depicted a gay romance between a married man from Italy and a Turkish teenager. The film was successful internationally and was even broadcast on state TV. Gay characters have started to appear on television series, although often in stereotypical or very restricted roles. The popular gay themed TV series Will & Grace and Queer as Folk have both been broadcast in Turkey by Digiturk (also Six Feet Under and Angels in America by CNBC-E). Istanbul Film Festival (held every year by İKSV) contains some selected LGBT themed movies. The "!F Independent Film Festival", held every year in Istanbul and with a smaller selection of films in Ankara, has an LGBT section.

It is worth noting that the culture of "honour killings" is another key factor within Turkish society - families murdering members (usually female) who engage in sexual/moral behaviours regarded as inappropriate. The death of Ahmet Yildiz, 26, may be the first known example of an honour killing with gay male victim. [cite news|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/was-ahmet-yildiz-the-victim-of-turkeys-first-gay-honour-killing-871822.html
accessdate=2008-08-20
title=Was Ahmet Yildiz the victim of Turkey's first gay honour killing?
work=Independent
date=2008-07-19
first=Nicholas
last=Birch] Institutions like the police and courts tend to ignore violence and murder committed in such circumstances.

Military law

In Turkey, compulsory military service applies to all male Turkish citizens between the ages of 20 and 41. However, Turkish military law bans homosexuals from military service as a mental illness, and those people later discovered to be gay in the armed forces will be discharged immediately.

In reality however, the military has made it so difficult to prove homosexuality that most gay men do compulsory service. To prove that someone is homosexual, the suspect must undergo anal examination and the military must also see visual "evidence" prior to discharging an alleged homosexual.

Anti-discrimination law

No laws exist in Turkey that protect LGBT people from discrimination in employment, education, housing, health care, public accommodations or credit.

Family law

Turkey does not recognise same-sex marriages, civil unions or domestic partnership benefits. The Turkish Council of State has ruled that homosexuals should not have custody of children.

References

External links

* [http://news.kaosgl.com/turkey_lgbt_history.php Turkey LGBT History] , on KAOS GL's website.
* [http://turkgayclub.com Turk Gay Club] , official site of Turk Gay Club, Turk LGBT Community.
* [http://trgi.info TR Gay International] , a bilingual guide to the LGBTQ Life in Turkey.
* [http://www.gay.com/content/slideshow/?coll=743&order=1&navpath=/channels/travel/ Istanbul: Asia meets Europe and ancient meets modern] , a gay.com travelogue of Istanbul, including a comprehensive review of gay clubs and tips