THANK YOU TO: BY
MITCH KELLAWAYMAY - advocate.com
 |
A composite image of Turkish trans women for Transgender Day of Remembrance.
|
Two Trans Women in Critical Condition as Turkey Sees Rash of
Transphobic Violence.
In May alone, seven trans women have been stabbed by men on
the street or in their homes, with almost no arrests made.
Transgender rights activists in Turkey have long called for
their country to expand hate crime laws to include transgender people -- and
advocates at LGBTI News Turkey say a shocking number of vicious crimes this
month show why.
Seven trans women in several different Turkish cities have
been stabbed within the past two weeks, with numerous unrelated attacks
happening within the space of several nights. On May 2, trans woman Gülşen was
stabbed in her Şişli home by two men with a knife and skewer, friends told
LGBTI News. Gülşen, who earns income through sex work, like many of Turkey's
low-income trans women, had previously encountered the men as clients. She
remains in critical condition following surgery, according to Turkish news site
Bianet.
On the same night, a second trans woman was shot and
wounded, and was brought to the same hopsital around 6am, according to trans
advocates who were at the hospital to support Gülşen.
Also that night, LGBTI News reports, a third trans woman,
identified as Rüya by Turkey's Dicle News Agency, was stabbed in Izmir by
several suspects, who have yet to be identified, while in Kocaeli, a trans
female sex worker was attacked by an armed client in the house she had just
moved into with two other trans women, resulting in her being hospitalized for
leg injuries.
One day earlier, a trans female sex worker named Ipek was
stabbed, beaten, and left to die in a Mersin orange grove. According to Ankara
progressive news site Kaos GL, she had agreed to terms with two male clients
who then forced her into their car, drove her to the isolated grove, brutally
attacked her, then drove away. She was found by two farmhands who worked in the
grove and rushed to Mersin Government Hospital, where she was listed in
"critical condition" after being treated for several deep wounds and
fractured bones in her face.
This week, two other trans women were attacked on the same
night in two separate districts of Istanbul in crimes that may be related to
their occupations as sex workers, reports LGBTI News Turkey. One victim,
identified as Migel, was attacked in her Findikzade home by a group of men,
sustaining injuries and deep lacerations to several parts of her body.
Meanwhile in Işil, five men attacked another trans woman walking on a street,
breaking her jaw.
Following the May 2 attacks, a group of over 100 protesters
gathered in Ankara to protest Turkey's lack of national outcry over the
epidemic of violence facing trans women, according to Dicle News Agency.
Activists were also incensed by the April 7 attack on trans woman Bihter, in
which several men nearly cut off her left hand in an alleged attempt to steal her
wedding ring and money. When Bihter reported her attack to police and Turkey's
Ministry of Justice, authorities were reportedly apathetic and have made no
progress on her case.
"We know that hate attacks [against LGBTI people] have
a political base. The state that wants to introduce transgender-only prisons
should instead take necessary precautions against hate attacks," Turkish
trans rights activist Dehmat Aksoy told Dicle News Agency at the May 4 rally,
adding that the recent rash of violence "prove[s] that transphobic
violence is everywhere."
"The heterosexual patriarchal mentality that ignores
LGBTI people is being used every day by the state," she continued.
"LGBTI and sex workers, who are victims of this mentality, are struggling
for their lives every day."
Of all these recent attacks, LGBTI News reports that arrests
have been made only in one, the attack on Migel. Multiple suspects have been
arrested and charged with assault.
*********************************************************
LGBTI SUPPORT ORGANISATIONS IN TURKEY
Antalya Pink
Caretta LGBTQ: A group based in Antalya, established in 2013 by
Akdeniz University activists.
Bear Dictionary: A Wikipedia-like collaborative
LGBTT-led Turkish dictionary established online in 2011.
Bilgi University
LGBT Rainbow Club: A student group based in Bilgi University.
Black Pink Triangle Izmir Association: İzmir based sexual
orientation and gender studies research and solidarity association initiated in
2001 and officially registered as an NGO in 2009. It is İzmir’s first and
Turkey’s fifth LGBT association. A closure case was filed against the
association in 2009 for violating “general morality and the protection of the
family.” The request for closure was rejected in 2010.
Dersim Green Home Queer
Dersim LGBT Initiative
Dersim Moon Light LGBT [Dersim
Roştiya Asme]
Hêvi LGBT Initiative: An
Istanbul based group for mainly Kurdish LGBTI people, established in September
2013 after the Gezi Park Protests.
Istanbul LGBTT
Solidarity Association: LGBTT association and NGO founded in 2007 in
Istanbul.
Kaos Gay and Lesbian
Cultural Research and Solidarity Association (Kaos GL): LGBT rights
organization founded in 1994 in Ankara and officially registered as an NGO in
2005.
Kars Platform Against Homophobia
and Transpohobia
Lambdaistanbul LGBTT
Solidarity Association: LGBTI community center and association founded in
1993 in Istanbul and officially registered as an NGO in 1996. A
closure case was filed against the association in 2008 for violating “general
morality and the protection of the family.” The request for closure was
rejected by the Supreme Court of Appeals.
LISTAG Families of LGBTs in
Istanbul: A voluntary support and solidarity group for families and
friends of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans people in Turkey since January
2008.
Pink Life LGBTT Solidarity Association: Turkey’s first
trans rights association and registered NGO established in 2006 in Ankara.
Social Policies, Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Studies
Association (SPoD): LGBTI association established in 2011 that works in the
fields of economic and social rights, access to justice, academia, political
representation, media, and international relations.
T-DER: An association that provides support services to
transgender individuals during their transition process.
WEB: www.sinfulandwicked.co.uk MOB: 07426 490 214 TWITTER: @sinfulandwicked
No comments:
Post a Comment