Is It Illegal to be Gay in Turkey?
LGBTQ+ rights have a complicated history in Turkey. Since 1858, homosexuality has been legal in Turkey; despite this, the LGBTQ+ population continues to face widespread prejudice and violence throughout the majority of the country. The term “gay” was adopted by homosexual males in the 1960s to define their sexual orientation. Is It Illegal to be…
LGBTQ+ rights have a complicated history in Turkey. Since 1858, homosexuality has been legal in Turkey; despite this, the LGBTQ+ population continues to face widespread prejudice and violence throughout the majority of the country. The term “gay” was adopted by homosexual males in the 1960s to define their sexual orientation.
Is It Illegal to be Gay in Turkey?
Turkey is a country with a large Muslim population, and because many Islamic doctrines consider homosexuality to be a sin, society has a bad opinion of the LGBTQ+ community.
Also, the Turkish government has come under fire for its treatment of the LGBTQ+ community for restricting events like Pride parades.
The Turkish government has intentions to leave the Istanbul Convention, a global human rights agreement that includes protections for LGBTQ+ people, in 2020.
Although being gay is not legally against the law in Turkey, the community still faces prejudice and a lack of legal protections, which underlines the need for more advancement in LGBTQ+ rights.
