12/06/2025 | Writer: Kaos GL
The International Planned Parenthood Federation, active in over 140 countries, issued a statement against the Ministry of Family's censorship of "LGBT and gender" and the anti-LGBTI+ bill, calling for solidarity with the LGBTI+ community in Turkey.
The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) European Network released a statement drawing attention to the deepening hostility against LGBTIQ+ people in Turkey.
IPPF, a global healthcare provider active in over 140 countries and a leading advocate for sexual and reproductive health for all, stated: “All people deserve to live with dignity and humanity, and it is only right that everyone has the freedom to be who they are and to love whom they love. And yet, this is not the case in Turkey, among other places.”
“A stark indicator of the shrinking civic space and ongoing democratic backsliding”
The Federation, of which Kaos GL from Turkey is also a member, stated the following:
“We are deeply outraged by the Turkish government’s systemic campaign against the LGBTIQ+ community, which has escalated through harsher jail sentences, the silencing of civil society organizations, and the imposition of punishments for nonconformity with binary gender norms.
These attacks on the LGBTIQ+ community are a stark indicator of the shrinking civic space and ongoing democratic backsliding in Turkey.
This deteriorating situation is reflected in the latest ILGA Rainbow Map, where Turkey’s LGBTIQ+ rights record ranks among the most concerning in the region.”
“We stand in unwavering solidarity with the LGBTIQ+ community in Turkey”
The Federation also addressed the Ministry of Family and Social Services' censorship of gender and LGBTI+ discourse.
The Federation, which said, “The directive, which simultaneously declares 2025 the “Year of the Family” while excluding and vilifying LGBTIQ+ people, exposes a deeply exclusionary agenda,” stated that the Ministry’s decision to erase key terms such as “gender”, “gender identity”, “LGBT” and “comprehensive sexuality education” from public discourse is a direct attack on the dignity, safety, and humanity of LGBTI+ people, and added:
“The entire directive and the narrative it is pushing are not only dangerous, but profoundly dehumanizing.”
The statement also mentioned the anti-LGBTI+ bill, saying: “No one deserves to face harm, abuse, or discrimination simply for being who they are. We stand in unwavering solidarity with the LGBTIQ+ community in Turkey and ask allies to spread the word about the situation and call for the safety and protection of LGBTIQ+ people.”
Click here to read the full statement.
Tags: human rights, women, family
