23/01/2025 | Writer: Elif Gölet
We talked about the increase in hate attacks against trans women on Bornova Street with Özen Sarıoğlan from November 20 Association: “This spiral of violence is the result of the fueled hate policies.”

Since 2016, discrimination, hate speech and physical violence against trans women on Bornova Street and its surrounding streets in Izmir's Alsancak neighborhood have become increasingly systematic. While the transformations implemented under the name of urbanization push trans women in the region to more isolated and precarious areas, the November 20 Association, which was established precisely against these attacks, reported the pressures and violence experienced and called for solidarity.
“Some women are fined on streets they have never been to”
Özen Sarıoğlan from the November 20 Association, which was founded to fight against the attacks against trans women on Bornova Street, emphasized that trans women in Izmir face an attack or oppression every day. Sarıoğlan stated that the security problems in Bornova Street are not limited to physical violence, but are further deepened by unlawful police repression and arbitrary punishments.
“The area seems to be a safe area with the number of police and guards per capita. However, law enforcement officers are at the center of discriminatory practices against trans women. Under the name of GBT (General Information Collection), only transgender women are subjected to identity inquiries, and unlawful fines are imposed. Some women even receive notices that they have been fined on streets they have never been to,” Sarıoğlan said, adding that these practices are part of a systematic intimidation policy.
Sarıoğlan emphasized that law enforcement officers exhibit a discriminatory attitude in the region and carry out strict controls especially against trans women and refugees, whereas there are no teams on duty at points with higher human traffic and they park their vehicles and leave the area. Sarıoğlan also stated that the house surveillance and monitoring procedures carried out in areas where trans women and refugees live are carried out in an irregular manner, and expressed his concerns that although these practices seem to have been stopped for a while, they will start again.
“Attacks have become part of everyday life”
Physical attacks, harassment and extortion against trans women on Bornova Street have become almost commonplace. Stating that the association receives news of new violence every day, Sarıoğlan said:
“One of our friends gets a battering report, another says that her phone was extorted. However, many people do not resort to legal remedies because they do not believe they will get results. We are in an environment where the law is not on the side of trans women. The perpetrators are even more emboldened because they know they will go unpunished.”
Describing this situation as a “deliberate strategy”, November 20 Association pointed out that increasing hate speech and discriminatory policies fueled by the government grow on the grounds of lawlessness and impunity. “If there was constitutional protection, trans women would not be targeted so easily. However, the attackers, who know that they will not be punished, are released after their statements are taken. The perpetrators act knowing that their actions will go unpunished,” they said, emphasizing the shortcomings of the system.
November 20 Association emphasized that very few of the attacks on Bornova Street were reflected on social media and that the situation has reached much more serious dimensions than it was thought and that the area has become dangerous not only for trans women and refugees but for everyone. Stating that the attacks continue day and night, Sarıoğlan said that this situation deepens the atmosphere of insecurity in the region.
“Everywhere there are traces of the same politics of hate”
According to Sarıoğlan, what happened in Bornova Street is very similar to the attacks on trans women in Ankara's Esat and Eryaman districts in the past.
“The strategy doesn't change, only the location changes. The same methods are always used to drive people out of these areas and into ghettos,” Sarıoğlan said, adding that the situation has worsened in other parts of Izmir and that some trans women have been attacked with bricks and stones and that security problems are deeper in these areas.
Sarıoğlan emphasized that systematic discrimination continues, saying, “Although the scale of the attacks may seem different, there are traces of the same hate policies everywhere.”
“Every evening one of us would walk around the street to check if our friends were safe”
Stating that November 20 Association has been working intensively to combat violence and discrimination on Bornova Street, Sarıoğlan stated that the streets cannot be made safe in the short term, and that they are always with trans women and support them day and night.
Stating that their work primarily focuses on the legal struggle and that they develop strategies for the streets as an association, Sarıoğlan said that they take the risks of the process and act with a sense of solidarity.
Sarıoğlan said, “Every evening, one of us was walking around the streets to check whether our friends were safe. We cannot tolerate losing a single one of our friends.”
Sarıoğlan emphasized that their struggle will continue on the basis of human rights.
“We continue to fight on the street”
Explaining that they are trying to develop a model of activism beyond the usual methods against hate speech and attacks not only in Izmir but also in their region, Özen Sarıoğlan, the representative of the association, stated that they are completely on the streets, standing by trans women and focusing on street struggle. He stated that they foresee that hate speech will lead to more attacks and emphasized that solidarity and volunteer support are vital in this difficult process.
“We need human resources rather than money. We are in urgent need of volunteer lawyers who can take immediate action,” Sarıoğlan said, adding that cooperation with feminist movements and different platforms is also important, but that they need broader support. Sarıoğlan stated that the association aims for a strategic and collective struggle in Izmir and the Aegean Region and called on all human rights defenders to stand in solidarity.
Tags: human rights, women