01/11/2023 | Writer: Kaos GL
According to the new report of Kaos GL and 17 May; judges, prosecutors and law enforcement prevent LGBTI+ persons from accessing justice, and bar associations do not serve their functions.
Kaos GL and 17 May Associations published a report on LGBTI+'s access to justice. The report, published in Turkish and English, was prepared by Defne Güzel and Kerem Dikmen and translated by Damla Umut Uzun and Kerem Selçuk.
The report, which investigates whether the existing tools for access to justice are accessible to LGBTI+ persons, examines the view from the perspective of legislation and rights holders. Researchers analysed legislation and decisions and interviewed stakeholders for the report. The research results were reported under the title "Access to Justice for LGBTI+ Persons".
The study found that in Türkiye, it is not feasible to speak of an access to justice system that is within reach and affordable, with effective mechanisms that satisfy the rights holders:
“This is because of the overall framework of the justice access mechanisms. However, the current system excludes those who identify as LGBTI+ and brings limitations. This makes it harder for LGBTI+ persons to have access to the system and the ineffectiveness of the system is felt much more by them. When judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement officers are trained to exclude LGBTI+ persons, and their mindsets are influenced by the heteronormative infrastructure, combined with the climate of homophobic and transphobic hate speech produced by politicians and decisionmakers, the use of the justice mechanism itself becomes a process that produces violations. This makes police stations, courthouses and other public authorities that accept administrative complaints unwelcome to LGBTI+ people. It’s better to turn to other organizations like the equality institution or the ombudsperson that don’t use criminal law mechanisms, but sometimes they also discriminate and violate human rights. Lawyers and their professional organisations, bar associations, do not adequately fulfil the functions prescribed by laws and historical changes in the legal profession to ensure LGBTI+ access to justice. Except for a few isolated cases, LGBTI+ persons are not recognised as “right holders” who need positive action from bar associations and lawyers. The unfair justice system makes people doubt its trustworthiness and it fails to provide justice, especially to LGBTI+ persons. This demonstrates that changes must be made to both the legal and administrative systems.”
Tags: human rights
