"Details of the draft of the 11th Judicial Package, which is expected to be submitted to Parliament soon, were shared by T24's Ceren Bayar. Whilst same-sex activity is currently legal, Turkey does not recognise same-sex marriage, civil unions or domestic partnership benefits, and same-sex adoption is not permitted. Turkey scored just five out of a possible 100 on ILGA-Europe's 2024 rainbow map and Turkish LGBTQ+ people continue to face abuse whilst queer visitors are advised to be cautious when travelling in the country."
"The proposed legislation would amend Article 225 of the Turkish Penal Code, entitled 'Immodest Acts', and sets out that anyone who behaves "contrary to the biological sex assigned at birth and general morality" faces a prison sentence of one to three years. Alongside this, the legal age for gender-affirming surgery will increase from 18 to 25 and the requirements needed for such care will be more strict."
"The stringent conditions will include that trans folks must not be married, be sterilised and that the "necessity of gender reassignment in terms of mental health" must be medically diagnosed. Those who perform illegal surgeries for members of the trans community will face penalties, as set out in the article: "Any perpetrator who performs any medical intervention aimed at changing a person's sex in violation of the conditions set by law shall be sentenced to imprisonment of three to seven years and a judicial fine of between 1,000 and 10,000 days.""
"Furthermore, the proposals 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.""
A draft of Turkey's 11th Judicial Package proposes sweeping restrictions targeting LGBTQ+ people. The draft would amend Article 225 to punish behaviour deemed "contrary to the biological sex assigned at birth and general morality" with one to three years in prison. The legal age for gender-affirming surgery would rise from 18 to 25 and strict conditions would require unmarried, sterilised applicants with a medical diagnosis of mental-health necessity. Medical practitioners performing prohibited interventions would face three to seven years' imprisonment and heavy fines. The draft would also criminalise same-sex engagement or marriage ceremonies with substantial prison terms. Turkey currently allows same-sex activity but offers no legal recognition or adoption rights and ranks low on LGBTQ+ equality metrics.
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