04/03/2025 | Writer: Kaos GL
In a statement published on social media, the Women's Coalition said, ‘The oppression, which enemies LGBTI+s, targets them and aims to destroy them by trying to ban their existence, is intensifying.’
Photo: Serra Akcan / csgorselarsiv.org
Women's Coalition reacted to the draft law amendment targeting LGBTI+s in the Civil Code and Penal Code. In a statement made on social media, the coalition said, ‘The Draft Law Proposal on Amendments to the Turkish Penal Code and Certain Laws; With its articles that make gender affirmation processes difficult, prohibit LGBTI+ existence, impose “general morality” and attempt to define gender, it goes beyond the aims and duties of the state in terms of the Constitution and violates the rights to equality, privacy, inviolability of the person, material and spiritual existence and non-discrimination.’
The full statement published under the title ‘We are here against those who try to usurp our rights!’ is as follows:
"The process that led to the decision to unlawfully withdraw from the Istanbul Convention in 2021 was prepared by antagonising LGBTI+ persons, trying to discredit gender expression and naturalise traditional gender roles. As women's organisations that have been struggling against gender discrimination in every field for years, we have repeatedly stated that what happened that day was a major attack on our lives and freedom.
Since that day, while the attacks on women's rights continue, the oppression that aims to destroy LGBTI+ persons by making them enemies, targeting them and trying to ban their existence is intensifying. We see that those who declared 2025 as the ‘Year of the Family’ use the family as an excuse to oppress women and attack LGBTI+s.
Now we are faced with the effort to add these conservative and hostile attacks to the Penal Code and Civil Code. The Draft Law on Amendments to the Turkish Penal Code and Certain Laws violates the rights to equality, privacy of private life, inviolability of the person, material and spiritual existence and non-discrimination, as well as going beyond the aims and duties of the state in terms of the Constitution with its articles that make gender affirmation processes difficult, prohibit LGBTI+ existence, impose ‘general morality’ and attempt to define gender."
‘We call on everyone to stop this open call for violence’
"This initiative not only attempts to unlawfully re-legislate the provisions cancelled by the Constitutional Court; it criminalises our existence. It also clearly threatens our freedoms of association and expression by introducing a definition of crime such as ‘publicly encouraging attitudes and behaviour contrary to innate biological sex and public morality’, which is vague in scope and open to arbitrary interpretation.
The real problem in crimes of violence against women is not the length of sentences, but the lack of support services, investigation, trial and implementation of preventive measures. The real goal of populist show politics, which seeks a token increase in penalties and is far from a solution, is to implement conservative policies by using violence against women as an excuse.
Fixing biological sex, interfering with people's decisions and existence regarding their lives and gender is an attempt to design society according to a certain worldview and morality. We are all together against this understanding that attempts to act as a moral watchdog by introducing a concept such as ‘public morality’ into the Penal Code; that aims to criminalise our existence, our bodies, our clothing and our way of life; that tries to fix inequality; that turns the struggle against discrimination and violence into a crime.
Since they have realised that they cannot eliminate the rights that women have gained through centuries of struggle and the visibility gained by LGBTI+s through oppression, they now think that they can intimidate us by threatening us with imprisonment.
We are here, we resist. We call on everyone to stop this open call for violence!"
Click-LGBTI+'s are targeted with amendments to the Civil Code and Penal Code
Tags: human rights, women, family
