Turkey

Demographics

Estimated Total Population:

82.3 million

World Bank, 2018

Estimated SGM Population:

N/A

N/A

Estimated Total SGM Adult Population:

N/A

N/A

Estimated % of SGM Adults (18+):

N/A

N/A

No nationwide survey has been conducted or published in efforts to assess the sexual and gender minority population in Turkey. Kadir Has, a university located in the majority-Muslim country, has been conducting a gender studies survey titled ‘Perceptions of Gender Equality’, in which respondents are asked questions regarding equal rights issues. 77% of those surveyed agreed that same-sex relationships were against the current social norms in Turkey, and 45% agreed that the LGBTQ+ population deserves equal rights. Visibility of Turkish SGM has been challenged by the government. In 2017, the governor’s office of Turkey’s capital, Ankara, imposed a ban on LGBTQ public organizing such as “film and other screenings, theater plays, panels, talks, exhibitions etc. which touch on certain social sensibilities and sensitivities” due to safety concerns. Several activists and the Human Rights Watch criticized this policy for being biased and not founded in factual evidence or real safety risk.

Turkey's Laws and Policies from ILGA World Report (2019)

RECOGNITION
Marriage for Same-Sex Couples
No
Civil Unions
No
Joint Adoption
No
Second Parent Adoption
No
Censored LGBTQ+ Media Materials
Yes
Military Entry for Homosexual Males
No
PROTECTION
Employment Nondiscrimination Laws
No
Broad Protections
No
Criminalization of Violence
No
Ban of Conversion Therapy
No
CRIMINALIZATION
Consensual Same-Sex Acts are Legal?
Yes
Gender
Does Not Apply
Max Penalty (Yrs in Prison)
Does Not Apply

Selected Published Studies, Reports, and Other Documents

Studies:

Bayramoglu, Y., & Lunenborg, M. (2018). Queer Migration and Digital Affects: Refugees Navigating from the Middle East via Turkey to Germany. Sexuality and Culture, 22(4), 1019-. Gale Academic OneFile Select.

Bilgic, D.,Daglar, G., Sabanciogullari, S.,& Semiha A.O. (2018). Attitudes of midwifery and nursing students in a Turkish university toward lesbians and gay men and opinions about healthcare approaches. Nurse Education in Practice, 29: 179-184. DOI:10.1016/j.nepr.2017.11.018

Eslen-Ziya, H., & Koc, Y. (2016). Being a gay man in Turkey: Internalised sexual prejudice as a function of prevalent hegemonic masculinity perceptions. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 18(7), 799–811. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2015.1133846.

Keleş, Ş., Kavas, M. V., & Yalım, N. Y. (2018). LGBT+ Individuals’ Perceptions of Healthcare Services in Turkey: A Cross-sectional Qualitative Study. Journal of Bioethical Inquiry, 15(4), 497–509. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11673-018-9874-5.

Tiryaki, S., Tekin, A., Yağmur, İ., Özen, S., Özbaran, B., Gökşen, D., Darcan, Ş., Ulman, İ., & Avanoğlu, A. (2018). Parental Perception of Terminology of Disorders of Sex Development in Western Turkey. Journal of Clinical Research in Pediatric Endocrinology, 10(3), 216–222. https://doi.org/10.4274/jcrpe.0007.

Toplu-Demirtaş, E., Kemer, G., Pope, A. L., & Moe, J. L. (2018a). Self-compassion matters: The relationships between perceived social support, self-compassion, and subjective well-being among LGB individuals in Turkey. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 65(3), 372–382. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000261.

Unlu, H., Beduk, T., & Duyan, V. (2016). The attitudes of the undergraduate nursing students towards lesbian women and gay men. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 25(23–24), 3697–3706. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.13347

Yertutanol, F. D. K., Candansayar, S., & Seydaoğlu, G. (2019). Homophobia in Health Professionals in Ankara, Turkey: Developing a Scale. Transcultural Psychiatry, 56(6), 1191–1217. https://doi.org/10.1177/1363461518808166

Reports:

Situation of LGBTI Employees in the Public Sector in Turkey—2019. (n.d.). Retrieved June 17, 2020, from https://gender.khas.edu.tr/en/situation-lgbti-employees-public-sector-turkey-2019

Situation of LGBTI Employees in the Private Sector in Turkey—2019. (n.d.). Retrieved June 17, 2020, from https://gender.khas.edu.tr/en/situation-lgbti-employees-private-sector-turkey-2019

Articles:

Welle (www.dw.com), D. (n.d.). LGBT+ in Turkey’s prisons: A double punishment | DW | 09.09.2019. DW.COM. Retrieved June 16, 2020, from https://www.dw.com/en/lgbt-in-turkeys-prisons-a-double-punishment/a-50345186