21/04/2025 | Writer: Oğulcan Özgenç
According to the Human Rights Report published by Kaos GL Association on April 16, anti-LGBTI+ sentiment was reflected in the state's institutional strategy documents in 2024. LGBTI+ individuals faced violations in every category of rights.
Kaos GL Association has published its 2024 Human Rights Report on LGBTI+ individuals. Published under the headline “More Than Ever,” the report is the result of the association’s ongoing human rights monitoring efforts since 2007.
Prepared using violations reported in the media as well as applications received by Kaos GL and other affiliated civil society organizations, the report reveals the state of LGBTI+ rights in 2024.
The report was presented to the public on April 16 during an online meeting. At the meeting, the report’s author, lawyer Kerem Dikmen, evaluated the year 2024 and highlighted the key findings of the report.
The report states that in 2024, the government’s anti-LGBTI+ practices became systematic, and anti-LGBTI+ sentiment was adopted as policy in the state's institutional strategy and vision documents. The report includes the following statement:
“Anti-LGBTI+ sentiment, disguised under titles such as “sacred family” and “degenderization,” has become a component of permanent institutional policies. The Ministry of Family and Social Services has been tasked as an executive body for LGBTI+ exclusive policies.”
Kaos GL’s Human Rights Program Coordinator, lawyer Kerem Dikmen, stated: “2024 was more problematic than ever for LGBTI+ people, but the LGBTI+ community was also more resilient than ever.”
Key findings of the report
Some of the key findings of the report are as follows:
- LGBTI+ individuals, who were unable to obtain results from judicial mechanisms as complainants, were frequently forced to turn to the courts due to their identities. LGBTI+ people spent 38 days of the year in court.
- Turkey’s already poor record on freedom of assembly worsened further in 2024.
- Freedom of expression was violated not only through the restriction of the right to assembly but also through the obstruction of all other forms of expression. While the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) restricted LGBTI+ visibility in the media through open threats by its president or monetary fines, cultural events involving LGBTI+ themes became grounds for public institutions to withdraw support. As in 2023, artistic freedom of expression for LGBTI+ individuals in 2024 was also suppressed through bans and cancellations.
- The Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) once again served as a platform for anti-human rights rhetoric. Parliament became a place where LGBTI+ people were openly targeted, where public funds were allocated to anti-LGBTI+ initiatives, and where LGBTI+ existence was freely criticized.
- The Turkish Human Rights and Equality Institution (TİHEK) continued to reject discrimination complaints filed by LGBTI+ individuals, thereby perpetuating structural violations.
- The existing structure of Article 40 of the Turkish Civil Code, which is the legal basis for gender recognition, continues to cause systematic violations of the right to bodily integrity by requiring physical, mental, and hormonal intervention. Meanwhile, access to hormones for trans individuals has become even more difficult.
- Hate crimes continued to increase. Not only the right to life but also the right to bodily integrity was under attack for LGBTI+ individuals in 2024. Assaults such as robbery, physical violence, neighbor violence, neighbor harassment, domestic violence, stabbings, and attacks with shotguns were among the forms of violence LGBTI+ individuals faced throughout the year.
LGBTI+ individuals faced violations in every category of rights
The report also highlighted that, LGBTI+ individuals were subjected to rights violations in fundamental categories such as the right to life, the right to personal integrity, the right to personal liberty, the right to privacy, the right to freedom of movement, the right to housing, the right to access information, freedom of expression, and the right to assembly.“The persistent struggle of LGBTI+ individuals offers a beacon of hope for all of society and the future”
Despite all the rights violations experienced, the conclusion of the report emphasized the importance of the persistent struggle of LGBTI+ individuals, stating:
“As our report clearly shows, unless there is a change in the current trends, the deepening of Turkey’s human rights crisis is inevitable. The increasing number of LGBTI+ individuals who apply to Turkish LGBTI+ rights organizations for supporting documents in their asylum applications to Western European and North American countries demonstrates that this crisis is not limited to Turkey. Nevertheless, it must also be clearly stated that, setting aside political opposition, the persistent struggle of tens of thousands of LGBTI+ individuals demanding their basic rights in the streets offers a beacon of hope for all of society and the future.”
Tags: human rights, media, arts and culture, life, family
