Turkey’s first-ever umbrella LGBTI organisation

Turkey’s first-ever umbrella LGBTI organisation

A NEW umbrella organisation in Turkey has been established to fight homophobia and transphobia in the Islamic country.

The Turkey LGBTI Union was created around two months ago in order to ensure unity and solidarity among LGBTI groups, web sites and organisations.

The union is based in the capital of Ankara and was founded by a gay activist Nikopol, who founded the Turk Gay Club in 2006 to safeguard the rights of the Turkish LGBTI community and help individuals come together and meet within a safe environment.

The club has been a member of the International Lesbian and Gay Association since 2012.

The aims of the newly-established union are to help fight and safeguard LGBTI rights, push for equality laws and combat homophobia and transphobia in Turkey.

Same-sex relations are legal in the country, but the law does not include sexual orientation or gender identity within its legal or civil rights structure, nor are same-sex couples legally recognised.

Despite an increase in hate crimes in recent years, authorities are now reportedly proposing anti-LGBTI hate crimes and anti-discrimination legislation, as well as the  legal recognition of same-sex marriage.

H/T Gay Asia News

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One response to “Turkey’s first-ever umbrella LGBTI organisation”

  1. Turkey as become a very radicalised hard-line Sunni Muslim country in the past 10 years. Luckily Turkey is still a secular country at the moment, but that could change in the next 4-5 years with hard right fringe radical groups controlling several media organisations and starting to get a few seats in the Turkish Parliament!

    Gay sex is not illegal (thank god for a Muslim nation) in Turkey since the late 1800’s all thanks to the Ottoman Empire.

    Thank you to the Ottoman Empire!