27/02/2024 | Writer: Damla Umut Uzun
Kaos GL initiated its Stakeholders and Alliances meetings in Eskişehir. During the meeting, which was attended by various rights organizations in the city, 2023 LGBTI+ Human Rights Report was discussed.
Kaos GL Association organized the first of the Stakeholders and Alliances meetings, which aim to draw attention to the rising anti-LGBTI+ opposition and to strengthen the cooperation and alliances in the human rights movement in the struggle for LGBTI+ rights, in Eskişehir.
Eskişehir Pride Week Committee, representatives from LGBTI+ organizations such as Anadolu LGBTI+, LISTAG, Association for Monitoring Gender Equality (CEİD), local human rights organizations, trade unions and feminist activists attended the first Stakeholders and Alliances meeting held in Eskişehir on February 24.
Kerem Dikmen, Kaos GL Human Rights Program Coordinator, shared the findings of the study titled “No Surrender - 2023 LGBTI+ Human Rights Report” and the remarkable trends in violations with the participants.
Following the presentation, participants engaged in discussions regarding the specific challenges encountered in the local human rights movement, the evaluation of current alliances and collaborations, the potential of intersectional activism, and collaborative strategies to address the discriminatory politics targeting LGBTI+ individuals.
LGBTI+ Community in 2023: Pervasive anti-LGBTI+ propaganda in the public sphere
The Kaos GL Association released the 2023 Report on the Human Rights of LGBTI+ individuals. Titled “No Surrender” the report is the outcome of the association’s human rights monitoring efforts dating back to 2007. The report, compiled based on violations reported in the media and submissions to the Kaos GL Association and other affiliated non-governmental organizations, sheds light on the state of LGBTI+ rights in 2023.
The report delves into the fundamental rights of LGBTI+ individuals across 23 distinct rights categories. Additionally, it provides a ranking of violations and outlines the court agenda concerning LGBTI+ people for the year 2023.
According to the report, both the government and the opposition failed on LGBTI+ rights in 2023, the year of the general election.
“While the Justice and Development Party (AKP) – Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) coalition intensified verbal and sometimes physical violence against LGBTI+ individuals by centralizing power, other political parties or alliances vying for power remained silent on proposing changes. Hate speech has become widespread across the political spectrum due to various alliances.”
The report also underscores the prevalence of propaganda depicting LGBTI+ existence as a threat:
“Anti-LGBTI+ hate speech indirectly fosters an environment conducive to increased rights violations. Propaganda vilifying LGBTI+ existence and framing it as a malady or peril to be shunned has become pervasive in the public domain.”
CLICK – LGBT+ Community in 2023: Pervasive anti-LGBTI+ propaganda in the public sphere
Translation: Selma Koçak
Tags: human rights
