A newly drafted bill in Turkey proposes to amend existing Article 225 of the Turkish Penal Code, more commonly known as “Immodest Acts,” and mandates that anyone who behaves contrary to the biological sex assigned at birth and general morality,” would face a prison sentence of one to three years, according to Pink News. Currently, same-sex activity is legal in Turkey, though the country does not recognize same-sex marriages or offer any domestic partnerships rights to LGBTQ+ couples. Same-sex adoption is also prohibited.
The new bill would increase the legal age for gender affirming surgery from 18 to 25, prohibit trans people from being married, and require that they be sterilized. The bill also states that anyone who performs illegal surgeries for trans people face imprisonment of three to seven years and a judicial fine. According to PinkNews, the proposals also state “If people of the same sex hold an engagement or marriage ceremony, these people will be sentenced to imprisonment from one year and six months to four years.”
Lawmakers claim the new amendments to the law are meant to “raise physically and mentally healthy individuals and generations and to protect the family institution and social structure.” Turkey has harshened laws and regulations in recent years as current president Recep Tayyip Erdogan ushered in an anti-LGBTQ+ regime at the start of his presidential term in 2014, claiming the community is a threat to the family unit.
The country has even banned Pride parades, a decision which saw much backlash from the public. Over 100 attendees at Pride in 2023 were detained across the country for attending banned marches. In the capital city Istanbul, Pride has been banned for a decade.
“Bringing criminal charges against people for their gender identity or sexual orientation is a profound violation of human dignity and amounts to state-sanctioned oppression,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
