- Homosexuality⚢✔ Legal
- Marriage⚭✖ Unrecognized
- Changing Gender✔ Legal, but requires surgery
- AdoptionAmbiguous
- Discrimination✖ No protections
- Employment DiscriminationAmbiguous
- Housing Discrimination✖ No protections
- Military✔ Legal
- Donating Blood✖ Banned (indefinite deferral)
- Age of Consent✔ Equal
- Conversion Therapy✖ Not banned
Public Opinion
By The Numbers
11.2%
of Turkish people think homosexuality should not be a criminal act
(Konda, 2012)
84%
of Turkish people do not want to live with LGBT neighbors
(World Values Survey, 2011)
History
Current status
(since Oct 29, 1923)
(since Oct 29, 1923)
Unrecognized
Current status
(since May 10, 2015)
(since May 10, 2015)
Legal, but requires surgery
European court found the sterilization requirement in Article 40 of the Civil Code to be unconstitutional.
" A person who wishes to change their gender may request permission to change their gender by applying in person to the court. However, for the permission to be granted, the applicant must be 18 years old and must be unmarried. The applicant must also be in a transsexual nature and must document the necessity to change their gender for their mental health and that they are permanently deprived of reproductive abilities through an official health committee report obtained from an education and research hospital. Depending on the permission granted, once the gender reassignment surgery fit for the aim and medical methods has been completed and verified by an official health committee report, the court decides to make the necessary changes in the population registry."
" A person who wishes to change their gender may request permission to change their gender by applying in person to the court. However, for the permission to be granted, the applicant must be 18 years old and must be unmarried. The applicant must also be in a transsexual nature and must document the necessity to change their gender for their mental health and that they are permanently deprived of reproductive abilities through an official health committee report obtained from an education and research hospital. Depending on the permission granted, once the gender reassignment surgery fit for the aim and medical methods has been completed and verified by an official health committee report, the court decides to make the necessary changes in the population registry."
Legal, but requires surgery
Requires surgery and Sterilization. Ruled illegal under the EU. Missing non binary options on documents.
Until May 10, 2015
Ambiguous
It is unclear if transgender Turks are permitted to change their legal gender identity. Trangender women face a lot of societal barriers including transphobic violence leading me to believe that the Turkish government does not permit transgender individua
Current status
Ambiguous
LGBT Turks are deemed unfit to be parents however, it is unclear if there is legislation to support this. It is also unclear when this policy began. However, same-sex adoptions are not permitted in Turkey; additionally, Turkish authorities have attempted to reclaim Turkish children adopted into foreign countries by same-sex couples.
Illegal in some contexts
No discrimination protections in turkey. Full discrimination protections in northern Cyprus. Including insignentment to hatred on the basis of sexual orientation.
Current status
(since 1858)
(since 1858)
No protections
There are not any protections for LGBT Turks. There is not any information about when this policy started.
Current status
(since Jan 1, 1858)
(since Jan 1, 1858)
Ambiguous
Full discrimination protections pending. Intenese discrimination. Sexual orientation discrimination protection in Northern Cyprus.
Current status
(since Jan 1, 1858)
(since Jan 1, 1858)
No protections
Proposed for full protections. Intenese Disrimination.
Current status
(since 1858)
(since 1858)
Equal
Current status
(since Dec 23, 2017)
(since Dec 23, 2017)
Not banned
Some people don't practice.