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LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENDER (LGBT) RIGHTS IN TURKEY--AN OVERVIEW OF ISSUES
PREPARED BY Kaos GL
ANKARA, TURKEY
September 2005

Part 1 – Kaos GL’S Demands…………………………………………………. page 1
Part 2 – Introduction…………………………………. ……………………….. page 3-4
Part 3 – History of LGBT Movement in Turkey………………………………. page 5-11
Part 4 – LGBT Community’s Concerns about New Turkish Penal Code….. page 12-13
Part 5 – Two Cases Regarding the Transgenders in Turkey………………..page 14
Part 6 – LGBT Issues in Turkish Media………………………………………. page 15
Part 7 – Problems of Lesbians in Turkey………………………………………page 16-18

PART 1 – KAOS GL’S DEMANDS:
Kaos GL urges the Turkish government and EU officials to take the necessary actions to:
ß Amend the Turkish Penal Code in order to ban and criminalize discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
ß Amend the Turkish Penal Code in order to remove the article penalizing consensual sexual relations between young people of 15 to 18 years of age.
ß Amend the “obscenity” article in the Turkish Penal Code by clearly defining what constitutes “obscenity”.
ß Revise its laws and eliminate vague terms such as “exhibitionism,” and “offenses against public morality,” which lead to subjective interpretation and can be used to harass and persecute people (especially transgenders) based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.
ß Develop programs for transgender people which will open employment possibilities outside the sex work trade and will help to ease the discrimination they are facing.
ß Ease the restrictive requirements for sex reassignment surgery (the Turkish Civil Code allows sex reassignment surgery since 1988).
ß Change military policy to admit homosexuals into the armed forces; allow conscientious objection, if a compulsory military service is deemed necessary; and to end all humiliating medical examinations to depict whether an individual is gay or not.
Kaos GL is hoping that EU legislation will press Turkey for legislative and policy-related changes on issues of sexual orientation and gender identity.

PART 2- INTRODUCTION
Turkey has always been somewhere between the West and the East. Its culture includes both Western and Eastern values. These values sometimes clash with each other. A striking example of this clash is the struggle for human rights by Turkish lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders (LGBT). Providing solutions to the problems of the Turkish LGBT community will be one of the litmus tests for the future of the democracy in Turkey, as well as inclusion in the European Union.
There are reasons to be both optimistic and pessimistic regarding the fate of Turkish LGBT people.
As seen in “Part 3- The History of the LGBT Movement in Turkey” of this report, the LGBT movement in Turkey is still in its early stages. One can easily notice that the Turkish LGBT movement is becoming more vocal and active. Especially since the 1990s, the momentum has been steadily increasing.
In 2005 there are two very active and vocal Turkish LGBT organizations: Lambda Istanbul in Istanbul and Kaos GL in Ankara. There are also smaller LGBT groups established all over Turkey.

Kaos GL
Founded in the capital of Turkey, Kaos GL has been one of the pioneer LGBT groups in Turkey since the early 1990s. Kaos GL (with the support of Lambda Istanbul) has been very active during the preparation of the new Turkish Penal Law in 2004 (refer to “Part 4 –LGBT Community’s Concerns about New Turkish Penal Code”). For the first time in the Turkish Republic’s history, a group of LGBT activists were present in the Parliament demanding their rights.
Kaos GL’s other contribution to the Turkish LGBT movement is the magazine it has published since 1994. In November 1999, when it received a warning from the Security Department Press Office, Kaos GL Magazine registered as a legal publication and has been published, as such, since December 1999.
Kaos GL gained legal NGO (non-governmental organization) status in July 2005, becoming the first legally registered LGBT organization in Turkey.

Lambda Istanbul
Established in Istanbul, Lambda Istanbul has achieved many successes regarding the concerns of Turkish LGBT people. As indicated in Part 3- The History of the LGBT Movement in Turkey of this report, Lambda Istanbul organized many events to bring attention to the problems of the LGBT community. In June 2003, Lambda Istanbul celebrated its tenth Gay Pride week and the anniversary of its establishment. At that occasion, for the first time in Turkey’s history, about 50 gays and lesbians marched in a public demonstration down Istiklal Street in Istanbul, and issued a press statement at the end of the parade. Since then, members of Lambda Istanbul have marched outside, every year, with an increasing number of participants.

Influence of Internet
The Internet has had a tremendously positive effect. LGBT people, especially ones in rural areas, are able to communicate with one another more frequently, openly and anonymously. The Internet helps LGBT individuals and organizations to mobilize their forces and enables them to establish contact with the outside world. It can easily be concluded that the Internet will continue to influence the future of the Turkish LGBT movement in a positive way.

Problems of the LGBT Community
Of course there is also a negative side to this story. Although it is legal in Turkey to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, discrimination and persecution are also prevalent. It is too early to be optimistic about the future when it comes to LGBT rights.
There is still massive discrimination in both the public and private sector. It is very difficult for someone to press charges when he/she faces discrimination based on sexual orientation; Turkish laws do not recognize crimes of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Transgenders, who are often the most visible part of the LGBT community, continue to face discrimination and physical harassment by society. Just like gays and lesbians, they have little legal recourse. Although security forces have been very harsh to transgenders in the past, with the considerations regarding human rights by the European Union (EU) and the Turkish public, the situation is slowly improving.
European Union

Despite these difficulties, the prospect of EU membership has had a tremendously positive impact to the daily lives of all Turkish people including the LGBT community. It is essential to remember that Turkey is the only country with a Muslim majority that provides hope when it comes to LGBT rights. In a report prepared by Kaos GL previously, it was found that there are only six Muslim countries in which being a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender is legal and these countries are: Turkey, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. It is no coincidence that of these Turkey, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Azerbaijan have strong ties with the rest of European community.

It is hoped that the prospect of membership talks between Turkey and EU will continue to have a positive impact on the struggles of Turkish LGBT people. Kaos GL along with Lambda Istanbul are hoping that during the membership talks, the demands of the Turkish LGBT (see “Part 1 – Our Demands”) people will be taken into account in order to spread the values of democracy to every Turkish citizen.

PART 3 – HISTORY OF LGBT MOVEMENT IN TURKEY
As in most countries, in Turkey too, gay culture first became visible in male-dominated public venues, such as cafes and bars, especially in larger cities like Istanbul and Ankara. Unlike gays and transgenders, lesbians were almost invisible till the early 1990s.
1970s. Raising Consciousness
By the end of the 1970s, a group of well-educated and economically independent lesbians and gays had begun a political discourse with each other. Through the 1970s, Ibrahim Eren, working at the Environment and Health Organization in the city of Izmir, facilitated this discourse by establishing support groups among lesbians and gays of Izmir. However, the 1980 military coup shut this organization down, together with all other non-governmental organizations, and Eren left the country to escape government harassment. Living in Germany and other European countries for several years, he became active in anti-militarism and the emerging green and gay movements.
1980–1986. Radical Democrat Green Party
While the 1980 military coup crushed the freedoms that Turkish people had been enjoying since 1961*, it also provided an impetus for the LGBT community to incubate its own movement by eliminating access to other alternative, progressive organizations. Under these circumstances, Ibrahim Eren established the Radical Democrat Green Party to give voice to lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgendered people, anti-militarists, and greens. By 1987, the party floundered because of its inability to resolve internal issues.
* 1961 is the year the 3rd Constitution came into force which was one of the most progressive and liberal constitutions of its time. After September 12, 1980, the military government invalidated this constitution and accepted a new one in 1981 which is still in force as of 2005.
1987. Hunger Strike against Harassment
The Istanbul district near Beyoglu and Istiklal Street has always been an important gathering place for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgendered people. By 1987, police harassment, particularly against transgendered people, intensified to an alarming degree. The media was aware of this dangerous situation, but chose not to report it.
Thirty-seven gay men and transgendered people started a hunger strike to protest the harassment and sought help from the new Radical Democrat Green Party. This was the first public action taken by the Turkish LGBT community. Although no concrete changes were achieved from the action, this protest raised attention both domestically and internationally. Some prominent figures of the time, such as Rifat Ilgaz (author) and Turkan Soray (actress), openly voiced their support.
1988. Turkish Transgendered People Gain Legal Status
In 1988, following a long legal struggle, Turkish Civil Code (Clause 29) was amended as follows:
" In cases where there has been a change of sex after birth, documented by a report from a committee of medical experts, the necessary amendments are made to the birth certificate."
However, prejudice and violence against transgendered people continue.
1993. LGBT Pride Conference in Istanbul Banned
The Turkish LGBT human rights movement became more visible during the 1990s. The most notable event was an attempt to organize an LGBT pride conference in Istanbul in 1993.
The pride conference, named the Christopher Street Day Sexual Liberation Activities, was originally scheduled for July 2-6, 1993, but was banned at the last minute by the governor of Istanbul, apparently on the grounds that it would be contrary to Turkey's traditions and moral values and that it might disturb the peace. This was despite the fact that the Interior Ministry had previously provided the organizers approval to conduct the event. The governor allegedly sent his agents to hotels in Istanbul, instructing them not to provide lodgings to the participants. The next day, Turkish authorities detained 28 foreign delegates. At the time of their arrest, most of the detainees were in transit to a press conference in protest of the ban. They were detained for over five hours, threatened with possible strip searches and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) tests, and deported on a Turkish airliner to Germany.
The most striking result of this event was the immediate establishment of Lambda Istanbul, which, to this day, remains one of the most active LGBT organizations in Turkey. Immediately after the Istanbul city government banned the conference, a group of gays and lesbians, formerly named "Gokkusagi" (Rainbow), renamed themselves as “Lambda Istanbul”. The group’s first activity was to work with other organizations seeking to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. Working with Turkey’s AIDS Prevention Society, Lambda Istanbul prepared the first safer sex brochure that directly addressed gay men. Lambda Istanbul became a member of the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) in 1993.
1994. New LGBT Group Forms in Ankara and First Turkish LGBT Magazine Published
In 1994, a group of LGBT people gathered in Ankara to found Kaos GL, a new LGBT group. They also started publishing a magazine (also called Kaos GL) to cover LGBT issues in Turkey. Kaos GL Magazine is still being published as of 2005.

June 1994. New Political Party Addresses Turkish LGBT Community Issues
The Freedom and Solidarity Party (ÖDP), formed in June 1994, became the first legal political party to champion issues concerning the Turkish LGBT community. It also became the first legally recognized political party to specifically ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity at all levels of the organization.
September 1995. LGBT Pride Conference in Istanbul Banned Again
In September 1995, the Istanbul city government halted a second, planned LGBT conference. Lambda Istanbul announced the city government’s anti-democratic actions to the free world through the Internet and Reuters. Despite the Turkish media’s failure to report these developments, the international media did, and the Turkish Ministries of Internal Affairs and Culture received overwhelming national and international protests.
August 1996. The Turkish Supreme Court of Justice Determines Lesbians “Sick”
In June 1996, the Turkish Supreme Court of Justice (Turkey’s highest court) decided that permitting a lesbian mother to raise her child would threaten the moral development of her child. The Court vacated a lower court decision which had granted a lesbian mother the custody of her two-year old daughter. The Supreme Court characterized the mother as, "a woman who has a [sexual] habit in the degree of sickness” and granted the father the custody of the child.
1990s. Dilemma of Turkish Lesbians
In 1990's there were some unsuccessful attempts to establish lesbian organizations, such as Sappho's Girls (Sappho'nun Kizlari) and Sisters of Venus (Venus'un Kizkardesleri). Lesbians in the existing LGBT organizations, at that time, were having problems identifying themselves as part of the wider gay male movement. (see “Part 7- Problems of Lesbians in Turkey”)

1996. Repression Against Transgendered People Intensifies
Being highly visible, Turkish transgendered people continued to be severely persecuted. Just before the 1996 United Nations Human Settlements Program (HABITAT) conference was to be held in Istanbul, transgendered people who had been living in the Ulker Street area, in the Cihangir district of Istanbul, were driven from their homes. They were arrested and subjected to violence and torture. (see “Part 5 – Two Cases Regarding the Transgenders” in Turkey)
1996. Lambda Istanbul Broadcasts First LGBT Radio Show and Publishes Magazines
In 1996, Lambda Istanbul began a radio program through Open Radio (Acik Radyo), as well as two magazines, to serve the Turkish LGBT community. While the radio program lasted almost two years, the magazines, 100% GL and Cins (Gender), were discontinued.
1996. First Turkish Student LGBT Group Formed
LEGATO is a LGBT association that aims to bring together LGBT Turkish university students, graduates, and academicians. The first LEGATO branch was formed at the Middle Eastern Technical University in Ankara in 1996. Within a few years, branches spread to almost all universities in Turkey. By 2000, LEGATO had become one of the most important and active LGBT organizations in Turkey, with its continually raising membership reaching 2,000. While LEGATO groups are mostly active on-line, some groups also gather in their respective universities.
April 1997. First LGBT Organization Participates at Government Level
Two members from Lambda Istanbul were invited to participate in the National Congress on AIDS, held in Ankara in April 1997. This was the first time that a Turkish LGBT organization was officially represented at the government level.
June 1997. Turkish Transgender Activist Receives Award
On June 2, 1997, Demet Demir, a transsexual woman and the first person ever considered a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International because of sexual orientation and gender identity, was given the 1997 Felipa de Souza Award for exemplary service to her community by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC). Ms. Demir is from the Cihangir district of Istanbul and has worked on behalf of lesbians, gays, transvestites, transsexuals, and sex workers throughout Turkey. She has been imprisoned numerous times, tortured, has had her home broken into and her telephone cables cut in efforts to silence her.
In 2005, Ms. Demir continues to work in collaboration with various non-governmental organizations for equal rights for sexual minorities. She is very active at the Lambda Istanbul organization.

1998-Present. Semiannual National LGBT Meetings Held
Since 1998, Turkish LGBT groups have been holding semiannual meetings, one in Ankara in the spring (Bahar Ankara), and the other in Istanbul in the fall (Guztanbul). The purpose of these meetings is to assess and solve the issues confronting the Turkish LGBT community. Since 2002, participants have also included family members and supporters of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgendered people.
February 1999. First Transgendered Person Runs for Local Elections in Istanbul
Demet Demir (see above-June 1997), running as a member of the Freedom and Solidarity Party's (ÖDP) Beyoglu district organization, became the first transgendered candidate for the February local council elections in Istanbul.
2000-Present. New LGBT Groups Form in Smaller Turkish Cities
Following the establishment of LGBT organizations in Ankara and Istanbul, new organizations began to appear in other cities, including Pink Triangle Group in Izmir and Rainbow Group in Antalya. Groups serving specific needs within the LGBT community such as Bear Anatolia and Bears of Turkey have also become more active in the recent years. With the help of the Internet and other communication technologies, the number of LGBT organizations that target different aims and interests is expected to increase.

May 2001. First Time Turkish Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transgenders Openly Participate in Public Demonstration
Kaos GL participated in the May Day labor demonstrations in Ankara under its own banner and signs. This was the first time that a Turkish LGBT group participated in a public forum. It also paved the way for Lambda Istanbul to join the May Day labor demonstrations in Istanbul in 2002 for the first time.

March 2003. First Turkish LGBT Library Established
An LGBT library was founded in March 2003, at the Lambda Istanbul Cultural Center. It includes almost 1,000 books, as well as human rights reports about LGBT issues, articles about LGBT/queer politics, the publications of some Turkish NGOs, and LGBT-themed movies.
May 2003. Important Symposia Held Concerning LGBT Issues
In May 2003, a symposium entitled "Music and Gender Politics" was held at the Lambda Istanbul Cultural Center.
Also in May 2003, the "Symposium about Discrimination and Violence towards Gays and Lesbians" was held in Istanbul’s Bilgi University. Participants included Lambda Istanbul, Bear Anatolia, and academics. During the symposium, discrimination against LGBT people in psychiatry, law, psychology, sociology, and social work was analyzed. Workshop topics also included "Problems of Transvestites and Transsexuals" and "Invisibility of Lesbians”.
June 2003. First Public LGBT Pride March Held in Istanbul
In June 2003, Lambda Istanbul celebrated its tenth Gay Pride week and the anniversary of its establishment. For the first time in Turkey’s history, about 50 LGBT activists marched down Istiklal Street in Istanbul. They also issued a press statement at the end of the parade that stated that “The Right to Live Proud” is an indispensable part of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The statement also indicated the range of problems that Turkish LGBT people continue to face in their lives. Other events followed the parade, including the traditional pride party, the showing of the legendary movie “Stonewall”, a symposium and a poetry recital. Since 2003, Lambda Istanbul has organized yearly pride march and events in Istanbul.
September 2003. Lambda Istanbul Joins an International Conference in Istanbul
On September 27, 2003 Lambda Istanbul participated in the "International Congress of the Institute of Forensic Sciences" and joined a symposium addressing "Murders towards Gays and Lesbians".

Spring 2004. Meetings and Symposia Held in Various Cities
In the spring of 2004, Kaos GL convened meetings in the cities of Diyarbakir, Ankara, Izmir, and Istanbul in order to unite lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered individuals with human rights activists.
University-supported symposia included "To Understand Sexual Identity and Sexual Orientation in Turkey", held May 7, 2004, at Istanbul Bilgi University, and "Turkey, Identity, Queer", held for two days in April 2004 at the University of Bosphorus.
January 2004. Turkish Parliament Justice Commission Proposes Criminalizing "Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation"
On January 29, 2004, Turkey's Parliamentary Justice Commission voted to alter the discrimination clause in the Penal Code to designate "discrimination based on sexual orientation" a crime. It would encompass services, housing, and employment. Turkish LGBT activists praised the proposal. If it had been passed into law, Turkey would have become the first predominantly Muslim country to pass such progressive human rights legislation.
July 2004. Turkish Parliament Justice Commission Rules Out Anti-discrimination Proposal
On July 6, 2004, the Parliamentary Justice Commission decided to replace the discrimination clause in the Penal Code with the existing discrimination clause in the Constitution (Article No.10). While prohibiting discrimination based on language, race, skin color, gender, political opinion, religion, denomination, and similar reasons, the Constitution does not directly refer to sexual orientation.
July 2004. International Group Advocates Penal Code Reform as Part of Turkey’s European Union (EU) Membership Application
In July, 2004, the International Lesbian and Gay Association of Europe (ILGA Europe) asked the EU Presidency to ensure that the Turkish Penal Code be amended to criminalize discrimination against LGBT people.
September 2004. Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, and Transgendered People Protest Legislation
On September 15, 2004, demonstrators from LGBT groups marched alongside women’s rights groups in front of the Turkish Parliament to protest proposed legislation which makes no reference to discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
October 2004. European Union Report on Turkey Barely Mentions LGBT Discrimination
The 2004 Regular Report on Turkey's Progress towards Accession, published October 6, 2004, addressed various problems concerning Turkey. Although discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation was mentioned twice in the report, the language was vague and the problems of the Turkish LGBT community were not mentioned at all.
October 2004. Formation of Gay and Lesbian Workers Network
Gay & Lesbian Workers Network of Kaos GL was formed and it held its first meeting in Ankara between October 29 and 31, 2004.
October 2004. First Gay and Lesbian Film Festival Held in Istanbul
Istanbul held its first gay and lesbian film festival, "OutIstanbul, 1st International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival", from October 1-6, 2004.

2005. Turkish LGBT Groups Push for Equality Promise in EU-Turkey Debate
On December 17, 2004, the European Union agreed to start negotiating membership with Turkey in October 2005. Kaos GL in Ankara and Lambda Istanbul in Istanbul issued numerous press releases to both Turkish and EU officials in order to draw attention to the concerns and demands of the Turkish LGBT community.
February 2005. Raising International Awareness of LGBT issues of Turkey
For the first time, the embassies of western countries attended a series of conferences concerning issues regarding Turkish LGBT community. The events were organized by Kaos GL in February, 2005.
April 2005. Arrest of a Gay activist and Conscientious Objector
Turkish gay activist and conscientious objector Mehmet Tarhan is being held in a military prison in Sivas, Turkey since April 2005. He was charged with “insubordination in front of the unit”, which carries a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment under Article 88 of TACK (Turkish Military Penal Code). Turkish army is the only European NATO army that defines homosexuality as a psychological disorder; in addition it does not recognize Conscientious Objection, therefore, any Turkish male citizen who refuses to service in the military is subjected to prison terms.
July 2005. Kaos GL Became the First Turkish LGBT Organization That Gained Legal Status
Kaos GL, which was founded in 1994, finally applied to Interior Ministry and attained legal status.
August 2005. Prison Sentence for Mehmet Tarhan
Sivas Military Criminal Court sentenced the gay activist and conscientious objector Mehmet Tarhan to 4 years of prison. (see above – April 2005)
September 2005. Kaos GL’s Legal Status is in Jeopardy
Governor of Ankara rejected to approve the legal status of Kaos GL and filed a lawsuit to close the organization. (see above – July 2005)

PART 4 – LGBT COMMUNITY’S CONCERNS ABOUT NEW TURKISH PENAL CODE
The new Turkish Penal Code, which does not recognize the existence of Turkish lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) people, went into effect on June 1, 2005.
None of the demands Kaos GL and Lambda Istanbul brought up during their face-to-face meetings with the Justice Commission members were considered. Turkish lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders want to live in Turkey without being outlawed, stigmatized and discriminated against.

Turkish LGBT People’s Demands:
The Turkish LGBT Community urges the government to take the necessary action to amend the Turkish Penal Code to:
ß Ban and criminalize discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
ß Remove the article penalizing consensual sexual relations between young people of 15 – 18 years of age. (which conflicts with the Children's Rights Protocol and the Global Declaration on Human Rights, both ratified by Turkey)
ß Amend the “obscenity” article by clearly defining acts of “obscenity”

Existing Situation in Turkey:
Turkish lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders, are trying to explain to the larger community that having the freedom to live as a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered individual is a human rights issue.
Although, in Turkey, being a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender was never legally a “crime” nor a “disease”, the institutions of the Turkish government have always used pressure, intimidation and sometimes violence against the Turkish LGBT community.
The Turkish media cover the issues and demands of the LGBT community as if they are cheap magazine news. At the same time the ambiguity of the newly accepted laws punish LGBT people by not recognizing them.

Kaos GL’s Story about Turkish Penal Code:
On May 24, 2004, representatives of Kaos GL and Lambda Istanbul met with Mr. Orhan Erarslan, a member of the Turkish Parliament and a member of the Justice Commission. During the meeting, the speaker of the LGBT groups demanded the inclusion of the lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders among the groups that are protected by the Turkish Penal Code. The speaker also emphasized that sentences for crimes perpetrated against gays should not be reduced by the court. He added that laws should be further revised to prevent discrimination against LGBT people.
On January 29, 2004, the Justice Commission decided to add “sexual orientation” to the “discrimination clause” which would prosecute people with a 6-month to 1-year jail term if they discriminate against others based on sexual orientation.
On July 6, 2004, Turkish Parliamentary Justice Commission overruled prison terms for ‘sexual orientation’ discrimination after Justice Minister Cemil Cicek claimed that discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation are the same things.
On September 15, 2004 representatives from Kaos GL, Lambda Istanbul and women rights organizations, joined the first Parliamentary Session in reviewing new Turkish Penal Code. The LGBT community demanded that the Justice Commission put “discrimination based on sexual orientation” back into the Penal Code draft (which did not happen).
Since that time, in order to explain the demands and worries of the LGBT people about the new Turkish Penal Law, Kaos GL and Lambda Istanbul issued numerous press statements and forwarded them to the members of the Justice Commission, Turkish MEPs and the Turkish public.

What Will Happen if the Demands of Turkish LGBT People Are Not Realized?
ß Kaos GL has been publishing a political LGBT magazine since 1994. In 1999 during a trial about the magazine, the prosecutor decided the magazine was harmful to minors. This decision put Kaos GL Magazine into the same category as a pornographic publication. Therefore, Kaos GL Magazine was sold in a covered envelope for several months until the judge ruled in favor of the magazine. Will the Turkish Justice Commission and the Parliament put the demands and thoughts of Turkish LGBT people in an envelope again? Or, if that is not enough, will LGBT individuals be put in prison?
ß The current situation stigmatizes and demeans the existence of LGBT people and finds their sexuality “immoral and unnatural”. Will the revision of the laws produce more stigmatization and discrimination because LGBT individuals are not legally considered?
ß In the work place, LGBT people are not hired, they face obstacles to move up, or they are laid off because of their sexual orientation. Which law or regulation will protect LGBT employees from discrimination based on sexual orientation?
ß LGBT government officials are forced to deny their sexual orientation; otherwise they risk termination of their contract with the government.
ß Lesbians face violence and oppression. They are forced to get married or murdered because they are lesbians.
Turkish government officials claim that the penal code legislation was drafted to increase rights and freedoms and bring the Turkish justice system in line with European Union standards. What kind of freedom will the new Turkish Penal Code bring if LGBT people’s voice is shut out? Their sexuality will be stigmatized as something unnatural, their relationships won’t be recognized and they’ll be fired from their jobs because of their identity.
Revision and harmonization of all Turkish laws or regulations pretend that lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders do not exist. This is both not based on reality, but also not based on equality and justice.

PART 5 – TWO CASES REGARDING THE TRANSGENDERS IN TURKEY
Special Cases – Zeki Muren and Bulent Ersoy
There are two names that are well known to the Turkish public when the issue is transsexuality: Bulent Ersoy and Zeki Muren.
These people are important because they are popular musicians accepted by the Turkish society. They both raised questions of gender identity and sexual orientation, the former by stretching the roles acceptable for male dress and behavior; the latter by being open about her transgendered identity.

The “Ulker Street” Incident
Before 1980, there used to be a place called “copluk” (dumping ground) in Taksim, Istanbul. Transgender people worked in the houses there. On September 12, 1980, with the military coup, the “copluk” was banned. Transgender people of that area began to look for brothels. They mostly began to work on the streets, in their homes and clubs in Beyoglu, Istanbul. These places, after some time, turned out to be insecure, leading them to find safer places to live in. The Cihangir section has become the final destination of transgender people. They mostly lived in Abanoz Street of Cihangir, until they were forced to leave this street in late 1980s. Later on, they moved to Ulker Street.

Ulker Street is located in Cihangir, Istanbul behind The Marmara Hotel. It is estimated that about 70% of the transgender population used to live on that street before an infamous police expulsion.
The operation took place during the HABITAT summit in 1996. The police, along with the residents of the neighborhood, forced the transgender inhabitants to leave their homes. The police forces led the operation with the support of the inhabitants of Ulker Street and the media, who mostly spoke for the ones with more power. The aim of the operation was to get rid of transgender people. Although there was not one particular reason which started the operation, the dominant elements were as follows:
ß Beyoglu was in the process of reconstruction (for the HABITAT summit)
ß Economic and political interests of various groups
ß Dominant culture’s attitude towards sub-culture (leaving them out)
ß Not being able to solve the economic/social/biological/cultural problems of transgender people (which lead to violation) and pretending that they did not exist.
One of the reasons of the forced removal was to make transgendered people’s lives, which had become visible and accepted in the neighborhood, invisible and non-existent for the HABITAT summit, an international gathering which would bring Istanbul into the spotlight.

PART 6 - LGBT ISSUES IN TURKISH MEDIA
In this section, the Turkish media, concerning the LGBT issues, will be examined in three stages.
In the first period, (early 80’s) the homosexual man, the “gay” was something not fully understood. Gays were portrayed as a stereotype. A distinction between a homosexual man and a transgender was not made. Anyone “not normal” was considered to be homosexual.
The inside pages of the newspapers often used homosexuals as subjects to news of “murder, perversity and immorality.” Homosexuality was shown as an issue to entertain the public. This was also the period when AIDS became known as a disease of homosexuals. AIDS was breaking news, along with homosexuality.

While this was the case in the first period, in the following period (1990’s) the attitude of the media towards the LGBT people gradually began to change. Despite the differences of their sexual orientation and gender identity, all gay men (effeminate or not) and transgenders were considered as “homosexuals”. In other words transgenderism meant homosexuality.
Lesbianism, on the other hand, was sometimes placed in the news, but this was really rare. Other times, lesbianism was used as subjects for pornography.
The lesbians, gays and bisexuals were able to hide themselves from the public; no-one cared what they were as long as they stayed in silence, but the transgenders were visible to everyone. Whether they came out to the public or not did not matter, the media could find them easily.

In 1994, Kaos GL Magazine, the first LGBT magazine of Turkey, was published. Now, the LGBT population had begun to form its own organizations. Following this The Independence (Hurriyet), the biggest newspapers in Turkey, began to publish news about the LGBT community without altering them in order to turn them into subjects for entertainment for the public.
Starting in the early 2000s, the third period marks the beginning of a totally changed attitude both by the media and the LGBT community in Turkey. The LGBT people now choose not to run away and hide from the media. Instead, they communicate directly with the media to express themselves. The fight of the LGBT individual may now be seen in the media, rather than the portrayal as a “pervert” or a stereotype.

Today, things have changed drastically, compared to these three periods. Now one can see gays and lesbians on TV, discussing their concerns and asking for their rights. Both the concepts and the terminology have changed: the “homoseksuel” or the “homo” of the 80s has changed into “gey” or “escinsel”. This suggests that the society’s point of view and the perception of LGBT people have changed for both the media and the public.

PART 7- PROBLEMS OF LESBIANS IN TURKEY
The most important problem of lesbians living in Turkey is perhaps the difficulty of coming out. Even though lesbianism (along with gays and transgenders) is not considered a crime and not forbidden by law in Turkey, it’s very hard to come out because of the fact that discrimination against sexual orientation is not forbidden. During the discussions about the New Turkish Penal Law, the LGBT organizations like Kaos GL and Lambda Istanbul made campaigns with feminist organizations in order to make discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation a crime. Yet, the article making discrimination against sexual orientation a crime has been removed from the draft by the instruction of the Minister of Justice. Turkey still does not have any LGBT rights. (see “Part 4 –LGBT Community’s Concerns About New Turkish Penal Code”)

Education and Work Life
In Turkey, because of some religious and cultural facts, the education level of women is low compared to that of men. Since most women are not as educated, The number of women who have a chance to have a career is less then men.
Unemployment rate is high in Turkey and men are more likely to occupy the available jobs. By recent legal arrangements, obligatory education has been extended from five to eight years for both sexes. It is very hard for women who went through only obligatory education to find a job. They can only find under-paid jobs in metropolitan areas with almost no social security. Because only people who had a prior job can benefit from unemployment insurance, women, who mostly deal with housework or unregistered house oriented jobs, cannot access this benefit. Even the women who have economical independence are not allowed to live alone, without their families, unless they are married. Most women are forced to marry because of societal and economic pressure. Consequently many lesbians are forced into marriage. There has been a recent case that can give an idea of the degree of violence to which lesbians are exposed. In that case, a husband who killed his wife’s girlfriend, because of the fact that she was a lesbian, was given a diminished punishment for “unjust provocation”.

Family and Psychiatry
Some lesbians who come out to their families are punished in several ways. Some are not allowed even to go out and some families force them to go to psychiatrists in order to be treated. Contrary to the acceptable professional rules, some of the psychiatrists accept homosexuality as an illness and try to rid gays and lesbians of their sexual orientation. Kaos GL has some projects regarding this issue and is currently providing workshops in order to raise the understanding of psychiatrists regarding LGBT issues and to educate them that being a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender is not an illness.
Government’s Attitude about Lesbians’ Problems
Turkish government provides neither positive programs to employ women, nor shelters for lesbians who are subjected to violence. Although some women’s shelters still exist, most have been closed due to financial problems.

Challenges in Work Life
Even working lesbians cannot come out in work places because the law does not forbid discrimination against sexual orientation. Being a lesbian is not forbidden by law but there are some articles in labor laws which allow the employees to fire people based on immorality. If a person is fired because of the fact that she/he is gay, the employee can claim that she/he has a right to fire the worker because she/he leads an immoral life.
In such a case, only the judge who works on that particular case can decide if that person’s life-style is immoral or not. At this time, there is no sample case. It is unknown what would happen if such a case occurs. If the judge is influenced by the pressure of religious and cultural beliefs that being a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender is immoral, she/he can arrive at a decision that it is an immoral act. If such a decision is approved by the Supreme Court, then that decision will become a rule of legal argument. Due to such pressures, most LGBT workers don’t come out at their work places. This enhances the problem of invisibility and thus delays social transformation.
In a sample case in 1996, the Supreme Court decided to give the custody (guardianship) of a child to the father, because the mother was a lesbian who was accused of leading an immoral life.

Religion and Women’s Status in Community
One of the reasons that make coming out a major challenge is religion. In Islam, homosexuality, as well as premarital sex, is a sin. Because of these facts, women’s sexuality is rarely spoken in families and community.
The prevailing culture in Turkey is based on fear of women’s sexuality which forces them to live with men. That is why it is very hard for a woman to accept herself as a lesbian and to build a lesbian life. Women in Turkey represent the “honor” of their families and community. Sometimes, even women living alone are regarded as prostitutes. Women do not feel safe when walking in the street or sometimes in their homes. The community does not allow women to form self-confidence. They are expected to obey men, their families and community. Maybe the most important problem in Turkey is that a person is seen as a woman or man, well before being seen as a human being. Gender roles have an enormous pressure on individuals, especially on women. Under such circumstances, lesbians are exposed to discrimination for both their gender and sexual orientation.

Distortion and Ignorance of Mainstream Media
Turkish mainstream media mentions LGBT issues but they mostly mention male homosexuality and not lesbianism. Mainstream media systematically presents male homosexuality as a marginal phenomenon which belongs to only famous people and artists. The visible lesbians in Turkey mostly belong to upper socio-economic and cultural classes because their economic freedom allows them to be out. That’s why lesbians who belong to lower socio-economic and cultural classes are rarely visible and not reflected in the media at all. As a consequence, lesbianism is considered to be an upper class phenomenon.
The political struggles and campaigns lesbian women pursue are not mentioned in mainstream media, unless they are distorted, because they are not seen as popular news. Media tries to represent lesbianism as a marginal phenomenon and this makes it impossible for lesbians to find role models.

Deficiencies in Consciousness Raising and Solutions:
The feminist movement is not strong enough in Turkey and the government does not support it. Women are not conscious enough about feminism; thus their awareness of lesbianism is very limited.
Unfortunately there are Woman Studies Programs only in five universities in Turkey. The lesbian and heterosexual women attending Woman Studies Programs are more conscious about lesbianism. LGBT people think that supporting such studies will contribute much to awareness-raising of a larger community.
Although it would be useful to make the necessary legal arrangements for LGBT rights, active promotion of women’s independence, by empowering them economically, socially and culturally is as important as providing legal rights.