Violations of the rights of LGBTQ people in Turkey rose sharply in 2025, including increased detentions, bans on public events and new barriers to gender-affirming health care, according to an annual monitoring report.
The report, prepared by the Ankara-based advocacy group Kaos GL, says it documented hundreds of cases over the year based on media coverage and complaints submitted to civil society groups.
The group recorded six deaths in 2025 that it linked to anti-LGBTQ violence, including three it classified as hate killings. It said transgender individuals were disproportionately affected. Because Turkey does not publish official data on hate crimes based on sexual orientation or gender identity, the figures rely on reported cases, Kaos GL said.
Police interventions at Pride marches, feminist demonstrations and other peaceful gatherings accounted for many of the documented cases.
The group said it recorded 89 incidents involving alleged torture, ill-treatment or other physical abuse, up from 51 the previous year. It also cited claims of mistreatment in detention and in prison and said complaints against officers frequently did not lead to prosecutions.
The report counted 313 cases involving detentions, most during protests or public events. Some people were later released under court-imposed restrictions such as travel bans, while others were held in pretrial detention. In some cases lawyers attempting to assist detainees were also detained.
Bans on public events were widespread. A total of 336 cases involving Pride marches and other LGBTQ-related gatherings were prohibited by provincial authorities, broken up by police or followed by criminal investigations of participants.
The report also recorded 195 incidents involving restrictions on speech. It also cited bans on displaying rainbow flags, confiscation of banners, cancellation of film screenings and cultural events and fines of digital platforms over LGBTQ-inclusive content. Some news websites and social media accounts were blocked by court order, it said.
It recorded 52 incidents in schools and universities, including blocked student events and pressure on campus groups, and 21 housing-related cases, including evictions and the sealing of residences affecting transgender sex workers.
One LGBTQ association was closed by court order in 2025, the report said, describing it as the first such closure in 17 years. Several activists and association officials also faced criminal investigations or trials linked to their advocacy work.
The group linked the rise in documented cases to official rhetoric during 2025, which authorities declared the “Year of the Family.” Senior government officials have publicly criticized LGBTQ movements and framed them as a threat to the family
Turkey’s justice ministry is drafting legislation that would introduce prison sentences for publicly promoting or praising LGBT identity, criminalize same-sex engagement and wedding ceremonies and impose stricter limits on gender transition.
Under the draft, anyone who “encourages or promotes attitudes contrary to biological sex and general morality” could face one to three years in prison, a provision critics say would effectively target LGBT advocacy and expression. Participating in a same-sex engagement or wedding ceremony could carry a sentence of one-and-a-half to four years.
Doctors who perform gender transition procedures without court authorization would face three to seven years in prison, with harsher penalties if the patient is a minor or the provider is unlicensed. Individuals who undergo unauthorized procedures could also face time in prison.
The proposal would also make legal gender change significantly more difficult. It would raise the minimum age from 18 to 25, require applicants to be unmarried and mandate four separate medical evaluations at state-approved hospitals over the period of at least a year.
