Hostile school environment and no government partnership with civil society: -5/10 | There is no evidence of the government providing funding or working in partnership with civil society: 0/10 | The government provides funding and works in partnership with civil society to promote inclusive education for one ground of discrimination: 5/10 | Two grounds: 7.5/10 | Three grounds: 10/10
The state has continued to harass and prosecute LGBTQI activists in Turkey. Events are routinely banned or dispersed by force, despite an increasing number of court rulings annulling and regional bodies condemning such orders. Hate speech is extremely common and perpetrated by political and religious leaders, and the media. Hate crimes, including murder, remain common and trans people are most targeted. The police and judiciary are rarely supportive of victims in seeking justice. Organisations are routinely harassed and censorship is rampant. Discrimination is common, in all areas of life. That said, the public has never been more supportive of LGBTI people, according to a 2020 study.
Young LGBTQI people are also greatly impacted by the hostile environment and face harassment and bullying in school. Kaos GL collects incidents in its annual reports (2018, 2019). In 2018 for instance, trans students were reported to be denied dorm accommodation. In 2020, the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Services ordered the book “Declaration of the Rights of Boys and Girls by the Board of Protection of Minors” to be removed from stores, for promoting “homosexuality” and “gender ideology”. The Free Colors Association’s 2021 research found that 80% of LGBTQI respondents in Bursa had experienced discrimination in school.
Universities, such as METU or Boğaziçi University, have been a relatively safe space where Pride events or info booths could take place. However, the rector appointed at METU in 2016 has not been supportive and allowed police forces to enter the university’s premises and use excessive force against the participants. Some events have also been threatened or attempted to be banned over the years. In 2019, students who participated in the METU Pride action saw their scholarships and credits being cancelled. In 2020, a campaign asking LGBTI people to post pictures of themselves from their childhood, gained a lot of visibility. Regrettably, also backlash.
In 2021, President Erdoğan appointed Melih Bulu, a long-standing ally of President Erdoğan, who has supported anti-LGBTQI statements, as the new rector of Boğaziçi University in Istanbul. Academic staff and students held a series of protests, as Bulu is the first appointed rector from outside the University, and marked a next step of the government’s crackdown on academic freedom in Turkey. The university’s LGBTQI student group was shut down, students were detained, and the police assaulted many demonstrators.
The harassment of those taking part in the Boğaziçi Resistance has continued since 2021, with many being prosecuted, harassed on and off campus, or having their scholarships revoked.
A 2022 report by ÜniKuir and SPoD found that LGBTQI people have no access to mechanisms to complain about harassment and violence in universities.
In 2021, Genç LGBTQI published “Monitoring LGBTI+ Equality in Universities” and found that institutions in Turkey score alarmingly low. The report recommended that universities support students in their freedom of expression, to provide safe and inclusive spaces for LGBTQI and specifically for trans students, to mainstream SOGIGESC issues in the curriculum, provide counseling, and other key measures.
Civil society has reported that it has become increasingly difficult to conduct academic research and studies on LGBTQI issues in universities.
The government does not provide funding or actively works in partnership with NGOs in relation to LGBTQI inclusive education.
