Turkey’s government is pushing a new law that would further marginalize LGBTQ+ people, criminalizing public expressions of queer identity and making gender transition even more difficult. The proposal, part of the government’s “Year of the Family” initiative, aims to amend Turkey’s Civil and Penal Codes by introducing the term “biological sex” and restricting trans rights.
If passed, the bill would raise the minimum age for gender transition from 18 to 21 and impose extreme medical requirements, including proving “permanent infertility.” The process would also be subjected to year-long state-controlled assessments. Even more alarming, the law would criminalize “promoting behaviors contrary to biological sex,” punishable by up to four years in prison—effectively targeting Pride events, queer advocacy, and even same-sex ceremonies.
LGBTQ+ activists fear this bill is a direct attack on queer existence itself. “A trans person who hasn’t completed legal transition or someone defying gender norms could be prosecuted,” warns lawyer Kerem Dikmen from Kaos GL, a leading Turkish LGBTQ+ rights group. The bill also revives a 2017 law, previously struck down, that forced trans people to undergo sterilization.
Under President Erdoğan’s rule, queer communities in Turkey have faced increasing repression. Pride marches have been banned since 2015, police crackdowns are frequent, and government-backed anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric has intensified. If this bill passes, it will mark one of the harshest legal assaults on LGBTQ+ rights in modern Turkey—further isolating a community already under siege.
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