16/11/2020 | Writer: Kaos GL
Kaos GL published the Outcome Report of Ankara LGBTI+ Associations Meeting held at October 29, 2020.
The rapid transformation of the new type coronavirus that emerged in late 2019 into a pandemic caused a multidimensional crisis that profoundly affected the whole world. This crisis, which affects all layers of society in varying intensity “... has serious implications for LGBTI+ people who are among the most vulnerable groups in the country and who had already been struggling with challenges in accessing rights and facing systematic rights violations, including those related to the right to life. In addition to inequalities in enjoying the right to health and the right to employment, as well as soaring reports of domestic violence under isolation, the LGBTI+ community has been targeted by a recent wave of hate-motivated campaigns.”
During the rapid intensification of the pandemic crisis, LGBTI+'s became the target of the rising public opposition and phobic hatred. This wave, started right after the April 23 Children's Day, surged with the statements of various bureaucrats and state institutions that openly points to the LGBTI+'s and LGBTI+ organizations as targets. This rise has brought LGBTI+ censorship to various streaming platforms, statements of religious authorities scapegoating LGBTI+'s as the cause of the pandemic, and bureaucratic investigations on LGBTI+ organizations.
Besides all that “... banning halls and collective events, especially the physical halt of the activities of LGBTI + associations/communities/collectives, is one of the negative effects of the pandemic on the sociality of LGBTI+'s. ... The fact that all these activities could not be held during the pandemic negatively affected the LGBTI+'s both socially and psychologically. Especially the suspension support groups have further obstructed LGBTI+'s access to support. As a result, limiting the socialization activities of LGBTI+'s, which play a role both in identity construction and personal empowerment, negatively affected the community, increased the feeling of loneliness and created hopelessness among individuals.”
Specifically in Ankara, the pandemic began to be felt just after the annulment of the LGBTI+ activity bans that were issued during and after the state of emergency. While the activity ban has just been canceled, the pandemic restrictions have practically prolonged the ban. Increasing hostility towards LGBTI+'s has caused organizations in Ankara to encounter various bureaucratic difficulties.
Organizations from Ankara; May 17 Association, Rainbow Families Association (GALADER), Kaos GL, Red Umbrella, Pink Life and ÜniKuir, came together on October 29, 2020 with the call of Kaos GL Association and discussed the effects of the pandemic on their organizational activities. The meeting, where the impact of the rising hostility towards LGBTI+'s in the public space have been discussed, also revealed the concrete situation of the LGBTI+ struggle in Ankara.
Tags: human rights
