Turkey Proposes Sweeping New Bill to Criminalize LGBTQ+ Advocacy and Same-Sex Ceremonies

A concerning new development is unfolding in Turkey as the country's justice ministry reportedly prepares to introduce legislation that would significantly curb the rights and visibility of its LGBTQ+ community. This proposed bill, initially part of a larger judicial reform package but now expected as standalone legislation, aims to imprison individuals for publicly supporting LGBTQ+ identities, criminalize same-sex ceremonies, and impose severe restrictions on gender transition procedures.

According to a report by the pro-government Türkiye daily, the draft law would add new provisions to the Turkish Penal Code. It stipulates that anyone who "publicly encourages, praises or promotes attitudes and behaviors contrary to innate biological sex and general morality" could face one to three years in prison. In practice, this clause is expected to target LGBTQ+ advocacy and expression directly. The bill also proposes prison terms of one-and-a-half to four years for individuals participating in same-sex engagement or wedding ceremonies.

The proposed legislation also deeply impacts transgender rights. Medical practitioners performing gender transition surgery without court authorization would face three to seven years in prison, with sentences doubling if the patient is a minor or the provider is unlicensed. Furthermore, transgender individuals who undergo unauthorized procedures could face one to three years themselves. The draft significantly revamps the conditions for legal gender change, raising the minimum age from 18 to 25, requiring applicants to be unmarried, and mandating four separate medical evaluations over a minimum of one year from government-approved hospitals.

This legislative push aligns with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's recent pronouncements, including declaring 2025 Turkey’s "Year of the Family" to address declining birth rates. Erdoğan has frequently described LGBTQ+ activism as a "scourge," "fascism," and a foreign plot, vowing to take "every necessary precaution against deviant movements like LGBT."

The move follows Turkey's withdrawal from the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention on violence against women in 2021, with officials arguing it undermined "family values" and was being used to "normalize homosexuality." Authorities have also consistently banned Pride marches in İstanbul since 2015, often leading to detentions during police crackdowns.

Historically, homosexuality was decriminalized in Turkey in 1858 under Ottoman rule, and same-sex relations have never been explicitly illegal in the Turkish Republic. However, legal protections for LGBTQ+ individuals have steadily eroded. ILGA-Europe, a leading LGBTQ+ rights organization, currently ranks Turkey 47th out of 49 European countries for legal protections.

Human Rights Watch previously characterized the initial leaked proposals as "one of the most alarming rollbacks of rights in decades." The organization warned that criminalizing both patients and providers for gender transition procedures would inevitably push such vital medical care underground, heightening risks of medical complications and exploitation.

Should this bill pass, it would mark a significant and troubling step backward for human rights and equality in Turkey, further isolating its LGBTQ+ community and eroding fundamental freedoms.