LGBT TURKEY REPORT TO THE EUROPEAN SOCIAL CHARTER
March 2008
Below is the submission by Kaos G.L. (Turkey), Lambda Istanbul (Turkey) and the International Lesbian and Gay Association (European Region) on the 14th National Report by Turkey on the implementation of the European Social Charter
European Social Charter
Submission by Kaos G.L. (Turkey), Lambda Istanbul (Turkey) and the International Lesbian and Gay Association (European Region) on the 14th National Report by Turkey on the implementation of the European Social Charter
Article 1.2: Prohibition of discrimination in employment on the ground of sexual orientation
Executive Summary
Against a background of widespread hostility to the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Turkey, full and effective protection from employment discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity is essential.
The extreme social exclusion experienced by many transgender persons is a matter of the gravest concern. Unable to find employment, many are forced into a life of sex work, where they face violence, police intimidation, being driven from their homes, and serious health risks.
Turkey’s employment legislation and policies are seriously defective with regard to sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination. We urge the Committee to return findings of non-conformity as follows:
• The main anti-discrimination provision of the Labour Act (Article 5) makes no specific reference to sexual orientation as a ground for non-discrimination (see paragraph 12).
• Turkey has no legislation specifically prohibiting discrimination in recruitment (see paragraph 13).
• Under Article 25 of the Labour Act an employer may terminate an employment contract for “immoral” behaviour. This needs to be re-drafted to exclude the possibility of LGBT people being dismissed on this ground (see paragraph 17).
• Given the extensive employment discrimination faced by transgender persons, and the very serious consequences for all aspects of their lives, specific legislation and policies are required to provide protection from discrimination on the ground of gender identity (see paragraph 24).
• Turkey’s treatment of LGBT persons with regard to service in the armed forces is discriminatory (see paragraph 34).
• Turkey has failed to implement any policies or programmes to combat sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination in employment and to work with employers’ and workers’ organisations in this field. Moreover there is an absence of any effective action by Human Rights Province and District Boards to combat such discrimination (see paragraph 38).
I The general situation of LGBT people in Turkey
1. Turkish society and institutions remain generally hostile to the rights of LGBT people.
2. The effects of this hostility on the lives of LGBT people are illustrated by the findings of a survey of 393 lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons in Istanbul published in March 2006.
• 83% of respondents concealed their sexual orientation from some or all of their family members. Of those who were students (160), 82% concealed their sexual orientation from all or some of their teachers and school mates. Of those who were in employment (268), 88% concealed their sexual orientation from all or some co-workers, employees, employers or directors.
• Despite the high level of concealment, 23% of the 393 persons interviewed had experienced physical violence because of their sexual orientation, while 87% had experienced verbal harassment, ostracism etc.
3. Some examples of the ways in which this hostility find expression are as follows:
• Hate crimes, including murders, are a serious problem for the LGBT community. The assistant police commissioner for Istanbul province is reported to have stated that between 1996 and 2003 36 murders of LGBT people were recorded. Concern over such incidents, as well as over the failure of police to investigate them properly, was expressed in the most recent report by the European Commission on the accession of Turkey to the EU.
• There have been attempts to deny legal registration to every LGBT human rights defender organisation that has sought such recognition. One case, that brought by the Governor of Istanbul against a co-author of this report, the Lambda Istanbul Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transvestite and Transsexual Solidarity Association, is still proceeding.
• In August 2006 police in Bursa prevented an authorised demonstration against initiatives by the governor of Bursa to ban an LGBT organisation in that city. Some 100 LGBT demonstrators were trapped before the start of the march inside a community centre by a hostile crowd of 500 football fans, one of whose leaders called upon the authorities to prevent the march "if they do not want them [the demonstrators] to be lynched". The police “cancelled” the march, while making no attempt to disperse the crowd.
• Lesbians face particular problems, being exposed to discrimination on the basis of both their gender and their sexual orientation. In many social groups women in Turkey represent the “honour” of their families and community. Many lesbians are obliged to marry because of societal and economic pressure. In January 2005 a husband who killed his wife’s girlfriend was given a diminished punishment by Istanbul Second District Criminal Court of Major Cases because his wife’s lesbianism was considered “unjust provocation”.
• In 2006 Kaos GL’s magazine was prosecuted for alleged “obscenity”. The incident is the subject of a case under the European Convention on Human Rights.
4. Transgender people face particularly severe problems. These are examined in more detail in section III (iv) below.
5. The non-discrimination Article of the Turkish Constitution contains a non-exhaustive list of prohibited grounds, but does not refer specifically to sexual orientation.
6. In January 2004 the Justice Commission of the Turkish Parliament tried to add “sexual orientation” to the non-discrimination clause of the Turkish Criminal Code. However, the Minister of Justice subsequently insisted on the removal of this terminology from the draft legislation, arguing that the term ‘sexual orientation’ was a similar to the term ‘sex’ and that since this was already mentioned in the non-discrimination Article (10) of the Turkish Constitution, there was no need for such a reference in the criminal code.
II.The obligations of Contracting Parties
7. Under Article 1.2 Contracting Parties undertake “to protect effectively the right of the worker to earn his living in an occupation freely entered upon”.
8. Under Article E of the Charter, Contracting Parties undertake that the enjoyment of the rights set forth in the Charter “shall be secured without discrimination on any ground such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national extraction or social origin, health, association with a national minority, birth or other status”.
9. The Committee has stated that it “considers that under Article 1§2 legislation should prohibit discrimination in employment at least on grounds of race, ethnic origin, religion, disability, age, sexual orientation and political opinion”.
10. Moreover, it has determined that the discriminated acts and provisions prohibited by this provision are ones that may occur in connection with recruitment or with employment conditions in general (in particular, remuneration, training, promotion, transfer and dismissal or other detrimental action).
III. Areas of non-conformity with the provisions of the Social Charter
(i) Employment conditions in general (in particular, remuneration, training, promotion, transfer and dismissal or other detrimental action)
11. Article 5 of the Labour Act of Turkey (see Appendix 1 for text) bans discrimination in employment on a number of grounds, but sexual orientation is not specifically included in the list. While the list is not exhaustive, referring to “similar reasons”, we do not consider that this provides sufficient protection to comply with the Social Charter. given
a. the general level of hostility to LGBT human rights in Turkey, and
b. the fact that certain other non-discrimination clauses in Turkish legislation which are exhaustive make no reference to sexual orientation.
12. Turkey’s legislation on employment conditions in general is not therefore in conformity with the provisions of the Social Charter, and we urge the Committee to return a finding of non-conformity.
(ii) Recruitment
13. Turkey has no legislation prohibiting discrimination in recruitment. In this field it is therefore also not in conformity with the provisions of the Social Charter, and we urge the Committee to return a finding of non-conformity.
(iii) “Immorality” clause in the Labour Act
14. The idea that same-sex relationships are “immoral” has been used in a number of contexts to oppose the exercise of rights by LGBT people, for example, in opposing the registration of LGBT organisations , and denying custody of her child to a lesbian mother .
15. Under Article 25 of the Labour Act (see Appendix 1 for full text) the employer may terminate an employment contract for
“immoral, dishonourable or malicious conduct or other similar behaviour”
There are reports that this Article has been used to dismiss employees because of their sexual orientation.
16. The case law of the ECHR is very clear that same-sex relationships are not “immoral”. On the contrary, the European Court of Human Rights has stressed that sexual orientation is a quality which is as deserving of protection from discrimination as sex, race and religion.
17. We urge the Committee to return a finding of non-conformity with the Social Charter in respect of Article 25 of the Labour Act, and to require the Article to be redrafted to exclude the possibility of LGBT people being dismissed from their jobs on the basis of “immorality”.
(iv) Discrimination in employment on the ground of gender identity
18. Many transgender persons in Turkey face extreme social exclusion as a result of gender identity discrimination. Employment discrimination is a particularly serious problem. Unable to find employment, many transgender persons feel they have no alternative but sex work, where they face violence, police intimidation, discrimination, and serious health risks.
19. Appendix 2 provides further information on the difficulties faced by transgender persons in Turkey, including individual accounts of problems in obtaining employment, the situation of transgender persons who become sex workers, the violence faced by transgender persons, and their maltreatment at the hands of the police. It also provides information on the current legal situation of transsexuals in Turkey, and an explanation of the terms transgender, transsexual, and transvestite.
20. Two of the accounts in Appendix 2 encapsulate the problems faced by so many transgender persons:
Gönül, singer:
“Transvestites who had a male identity card were banned from the stage. I became unemployed again. Because my appearance had changed, I could not find work in a factory… I had to do sex in exchange for money for the first time. On that day, I had just an egg and a half bread…. I cried when doing sex in exchange for money with the first man.”
Ece and Didem:
August 2007: “One of the recent victims of this hate was the 22-year-old, transvestite sex worker Ece who had lived in Bursa. She was stabbed and murdered on August 18 by a man because she refused his offer to make sex. Ece’s 19-year-old friend Didem, who wanted to protect Ece during the event, was wounded from her hand. Ece and Didem had made a press statement together with their friends on August 13, just five days before this event, in order to tell that they did not want to do sex work and made job application to Bursa City Directorate of Turkish Labour Institution.”
21. Although neither the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) nor your Committee has addressed the question of employment discrimination on the ground of gender identity, the ECtHR has, in recent years, delivered a series of judgments recognizing the rights of transgender people to legal recognition of their gender reassignment, to contract a different-sex legal marriage, to access gender reassignment treatments and (indirectly) to parenthood. Appendix 3 gives more information about these judgments.
22. In 1996, in P v. S Cornwall County Council, the European Court of Justice held that the Equal Treatment Directive (76/207/EEC) provided protection against discrimination on the ground of gender identity in employment, a position subsequently reiterated in the context of two pension related cases. Details of all three cases are included in Appendix 3.
23. This position has been further confirmed by the EC Directive on Equal Opportunities and Equal Treatment of Men and Women in matters of employment and occupation (2006/54/EC), whose preamble notes in paragraph 3 that “The Court of Justice has held that the scope of the principle of equal treatment for men and women cannot be confined to the prohibition of discrimination based on the fact that the person is of one or other sex. In view of its purpose and the nature of the rights which it seeks to safeguard, it also applies to discrimination arising from the gender reassignment of a person”.
24. In view of the extensive employment discrimination faced by transgender persons in Turkey, and the very serious consequences for all aspects of their lives, we urge the Committee to return a finding of non-conformity with the Social Charter with regard to the complete absence of any legal protection for transgender persons from discrimination in employment, and to require the Turkish authorities to introduce specific and explicit legislation to this end.
(v) The armed forces
25. Turkey's official policy regarding homosexuals and transgender persons in the armed forces is based on the notion that homosexuality is a psychosexual disorder.
26. The Turkish Social Foundation's Health Competencies Administration, which informs the approach of the Turkish armed forces, sets out the following ruling:
“Psychosexual disorders (homosexuality, transvestitism and others) DECLARATION: Those who come under this category are those whose sexual behavioural disorders are evident, the event of this being known in the military environment is an opening to complaint and this situation must be proven in official documentation.”
27. Implementation of this policy appears to be inconsistent, depending on the local military authority.
28. It is often implemented through an "unfit for service" report prepared by medical staff for recruits identified as homosexual or transgender. Until March 2006 obtaining an "unfit for service" report required such persons to undergo psychological tests, and sometimes to undergo anal examination and/or provide photographs of themselves taken during sexual intercourse.
29. A survey of LGBT people published in 2006 included 27 males who had applied for exemption from military service. Nearly one third were obliged to provide a photograph taken during sexual activity, and nearly two thirds were compelled to undergo anal examination.
30. Since March 2006 the requirement for photographs and anal examinations has been abolished, but the requirement to undergo psychological tests remains.
31. However, a different approach is sometimes used, as illustrated in one of the trials of the gay conscientious objector Mehmet Tarhan, in December 2005. The military court commented, in relation to the ruling quoted in paragraph 26 above, that "in order to be able to determine that a homosexual is unfit for military service, it is necessary to observe the individual's behaviour in the unit. It is possible to determine whether a homosexual individual's behaviour renders him unfit for military service in so far as the individual's homosexual behaviour is reflected in his interactions with the outside world. In other words, the individual’s homosexual behaviour should harm the discipline of his unit. If this is the case, the accused should, without remaining free even one day longer in the barracks, be taken into custody". This would imply that homosexuals can be considered "fit for service".
32. Either way, the approach is fundamentally discriminatory: homosexuality and transsexuality are deemed to be psychosexual disorders; and, LGBT people are either to be excluded from the military, or if they are to be allowed to serve, must be considered a distinct threat to discipline.
33. In 1999 the European Court of Human Rights ruled in Smith & Grady v. U.K., and Lustig-Prean & Beckett v. U.K that discharge from the armed forces on the ground of homosexuality was not justified under article 8.2 of the Convention. It is clear that the current policies of the Turkish armed forces are not consistent with these rulings.
34. We therefore urge the Committee to return a ruling of “non-conformity” in respect of the Turkish armed forces treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons, and require that policies are altered to allow equal access to employment in the armed forces.
(vi) Government measures to combat sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination in employment
35. There are no government measures to combat sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination in employment.
36. The government does not work with employers’ and workers’ organisations to combat such discrimination.
37. Human Rights Province and District Boards are Turkey’s main mechanism for responding to human rights violations and combating discrimination. There is no explicit policy requiring these Boards to combat sexual orientation or gender identity discrimination in employment and we know of no cases where they have done so.
38. In view of the serious concerns regarding discrimination in employment on the ground of sexual orientation and gender identity in Turkey, we urge the Committee to return a finding of non-conformity with the Social Charter in respect of the above, and to require the Turkish authorities to introduce practical measures to combat discrimination on these grounds.
Appendix 1
LABOUR ACT OF TURKEY
Law No. 4857 - 22.05.2003 - Published in the Official Gazette 0n 10 June 2003
1. Non-discrimination
“The principle of equal treatment:
Article 5. No discrimination based on language, race, sex, political opinion, philosophical belief, religion and sex or similar reasons is permissible in the employment relationship.
Unless there are essential reasons for differential treatment, the employer must not make any discrimination between a full-time and a part-time employee or an employee working under a fixed-term employment contract (contract made for a definite period) and one working under an open-ended employment contract (contract made for an indefinite period).
Except for biological reasons or reasons related to the nature of the job, the employer must not make any discrimination, either directly or indirectly, against an employee in the conclusion, conditions, execution and termination of his (her) employment contract due to the employee’s sex or maternity.
Differential remuneration for similar jobs or for work of equal value is not permissible.
Application of special protective provisions due to the employee’s sex shall not justify paying him (her) a lower wage.
If the employer violates the above provisions in the execution or termination of the employment relationship, the employee may demand compensation up his (her) four months’ wages plus other claims of which he (she) has been deprived. Article 31 of the Trade Unions Act is reserved.
While the provisions of Article 20 are reserved, the burden of proof in regard to the violation of the above – stated provisions by the employer rests on the employee.
However, if the employee shows a strong likelihood of such a violation, the burden of proof that the alleged violation has not materialised shall rest on the employer.”
2. “Immorality” provisions
The breaking of the employment contract by the initiative of the employer (summary termination):
Article 25. The employer may break the contract, whether for a definite or indefinite period, before its expiry or without having to comply with the prescribed notice periods, in the following cases:
[…..]
For immoral, dishonourable or malicious conduct or other similar behaviour
[…..]
Appendix 2
The difficulties faced by transgender persons in Turkey
1. Introduction
Many transgender persons in Turkey face extreme social exclusion as a result of gender identity discrimination. Employment discrimination is a particularly serious problem. Unable to find employment, many are forced into a life of sex work, where they face violence, police intimidation, discrimination, being driven from their homes, and serious health risks.
The purpose of this Appendix is to set the employment problems in a broader context, and to give a clear understanding of the need for specific measures, legal and practical, to combat discrimination on the grounds of gender identity and gender expression. Separate sections document difficulties in employment, the environment for sex workers, violence and discrimination, and the current state of legal situation of transsexuals.
“Transgender” is a broad term referring to all persons who express gender in ways not traditionally associated with their sex. The two principal groups covered by this term are:
• Transsexuals - persons whose sex assigned at birth does not conform to the gender with which they identify. Many will have started hormone therapies and some will have undergone gender reassignment surgeries.
• Transvestites - generally men, who wear the clothing of the ‘opposite’ sex, but are not necessarily transsexuals.
2. Employment
In an article published in GaciIstanbul Magazine in 2005 individual transvestite and transsexual persons recounted the problems experienced attempting to find work. Some of the stories also touch on harassment by work colleagues and the police, and violence. The texts which follow are abbreviated.
Gönül / Singer
I started to sing as a soloist in several nightclubs in 1987 when child singers and arabesque songs were popular..... after child singers and arabesque songs lost their popularity, I could not find a job with my male identity card. In 1994 I became a transvestite. The nightclub owners who once told me that they did not want male soloists wanted me now. I was returned to the stage by a magic wand and I became fine both financially and psychologically.... this situation continued until 1998 when the illegal and meaningless practices of the police started... transvestites who had a male identity card were banned from the stage. I became unemployed again. Because my appearance had changed, I could not find work in a factory. Because of this reason, I had to do sex in exchange for money for the first time. On that day, I had just an egg and a half bread which was in my refrigerator for two days. I cried when doing sex in exchange for money with the first man. And we are now in 2005. The tears which do not fall from my eyes any more fall to my heart quietly. Long live the Turkish police!"
Deniz / Journalist
After graduating from the Faculty of Communication Department of Journalism of ...... University, I started to work as a correspondent in a national newspaper. I worked there for five years. I was able to get the yellow press card during my second year. During the first years, I did not face many problems because I did not reveal my gender identity. Despite all my efforts, people could notice my effeminate identity..... so I started to say yes to the implied or direct question as to whether I was a transvestite. ...... I had a job in which I was face to face with people and my existence became a problem..... I had to be silent because I did not want the newspaper, in which I was working, to know that my gender identity became a problem when I was working outside. I was working in a right-wing newspaper and when there was a change of management, I was not given another chance. I searched for a job for one year after I was fired, but I did not get a positive response from the places I applied to. Now I do sex work, or in other words prostitution.
Ceren / Journalist
I worked in three newspapers for more than five years. Two of them were local newspapers and the other one was a national newspaper. Although I was successful at my work, I was fired because of my gender identity. Despite my important contributions to my newspaper, I realised that my magnetic entrance card did not work one day. In the note that was sent to my house later, it was written that "we cannot work with you any more because our lifestyles are different." I did not hide my gender identity at my workplace. I was very successful at my work. I always was the most successful journalist. I worked in a nightclub for two years after I was fired. I do sex work now.
Esin /Teacher
I am a teacher in a school administered by the Ministry of Education..... I have a transsexual gender identity and I want to gain approval for the sex change operation. Because the hormones I take as part of the treatment caused several changes in my body, I have experienced several problems at the school and also outside. Other teachers always make fun of me because of my gender identity. Because my treatment continues, I rarely go out at night dressed up in female clothes. However, although I stated that I was a teacher, I was held in custody by the police a couple of times because I was a transvestite. I was insulted and beaten. A criminal record about me was prepared by claiming that I did prostitution. My only wish is continuing my profession in another school after changing my sex through legal ways. But the difficulties I have experienced up to now make me think that continuing my profession will not be easy.
Eylem / University Graduate
I graduated from Istanbul University Sociology Department in 2005 and started to work in a company named Profil Danismanlik. But there were only male workers at the company and my gender identity became the subject of their jokes. They were harassing me by swearing at homosexuality while I was working. I could only work there for one year although I was one of the most successful workers. I experienced the same result in my other working attempts. I try not to do prostitution. I hope I will succeed.
Özlem / Hairdresser
I was a hairdresser for men before I started to do sex work as a transvestite. I was raped by my boss at the last hairdresser's shop in which I worked in Kadiköy. While I was washing the dishes in the basement of the hairdresser's shop, my boss started to touch his penis after going out from the toilet. I tried to continue to wash the dishes as if I did not see him. But he attacked me suddenly. Because he threatened me with firing and telling everybody that I was a homosexual, I had to do sex with him. Then, other workers at the hairdresser's shop did also sex with me by threatening me. I was fired later. My effeminate identity became a problem for me in other jobs in which I worked later. I do sex work now.
Eylem
"I took my first steps to be a woman during the previous months. I had postponed this decision for years, as I feared that I would be unemployed and have to do sex work.... however, after I was fired from the last job in which I was working in a male appearance, because of my identity, I understood exactly that being fired or unemployed was not related to my appearance, in other words, whether I was seen as a male or a transgender person. Besides, I realised that I probably would not earn enough money to be a transgender person. So, I decided to take the first steps.... I took out my wig, my blouses for summer and my transgender type trousers. I shaved off my beard and powdered my face..... so, I got the appearance I dreamed of for years. I was the happiest person in the world. But this was just the beginning. ..... in short, the most important problem for me was finding a job in which I could work with my real identity. I was determined not to do sex work.
I started to search for a job with my female identity. I prepared a CV with my transgender name Eylem, and I e-mailed it to the workplaces in which I thought that I would be able to or I wanted to work. I also want to emphasise that I wrote that I was a transvestite in the gender section in my CV. But of course, I received negative responses mostly. 90% of the people calling offered me sex. However, I was determined to be motivated, not to be demoralised. My plan was making 50 job applications per day! And I did them.
A publishing company invited me for a job interview within a couple of weeks. I was accepted. I went home singing and dancing on that day."
3. The environment for transgender sex workers
Dr Muhtar Cokar of the Human Resource Development Foundation has given the following background in an article published in the 2006 year review of Kaos GL :
"In Turkey, sex work is regulated by laws. One needs to obtain official approval in order to engage in sex work as an occupation. Registered sex workers are required to attend regular medical check-ups for sexual transmitted diseases in certain government clinics. Government records indicate that the total number of registered sex workers in Istanbul is approximately 125, however it is estimated that there are as many as 30,000 people who work as illegal sex workers in the city. Illegal sex workers are subject to discrimination and stigmatisation by official and non-official groups. Transgender (transsexual/transvestite) sex workers and migrant sex workers are the most vulnerable groups among the illegal sex workers.
Transgender sex workers are adversely affected both by the unfavourable conditions in their sector and the community’s pressure against their sexual practices. The majority of the population is prejudiced against homosexuality, as well as transgender people, and therefore discriminate against these groups….. there is a demand for the transgender groups in the commercial sector. Transgendered, who decide to become sex workers, mainly come from lower social income families with low educational backgrounds. Therefore they find it hard to find regular jobs, which leads them to get into the commercial sex business.
Until the 1990s, transgender sex workers used to live and work in certain districts of Istanbul, in large groups, which would provide them with a more secure and safe living and health conditions. In 1996, with increasing pressure from the community, the police forced them to move out of these districts and they have started living in smaller groups all around the city. They have started working on the main highways, which make them especially vulnerable to physical and sexual violence. The are easily hit by cars and, quite frequently, they either get seriously injured or die. When they are arrested by the police, they are physically and psychologically abused. However, the legal system does not operate properly in order to prevent the abuse and violence….. under these conditions, transgender sex workers not only lack access to civic rights, they are left to their own devices to fight for their rights to life. Furthermore, the pressure from society, and authorities, have diminished the collaboration and support among these groups, which has made them to become more vulnerable to destructive societal and environmental factors…..
One of the major problems of the illegal sex workers is their lack of access to health services. The staff at most clinics and hospitals have negative attitudes towards sex workers and prostitution. They do not respect the privacy and confidentiality of their clients. Sex workers avoid health services as a consequence of such an attitude. The sex workers would prefer to obtain health services anonymously. Additionally, information on sexually transmitted infections and HIV/aids is not provided in the existing health services, where the emphasis is more on treatment. Sex workers are subject to discrimination and stigmatisation. Their lack of access to legal, social and health services make them vulnerable. There are no agencies or organisations, which provide any support or services to these groups.
Turkey is still in the early stages of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.... Condom use among sex workers is low, and, although awareness and fear of AIDS is high, relatively few know how HIV is transmitted or about the protection afforded by condoms."
4. Violence and discrimination
The following are examples of the violence and harassment experienced by transgender people recorded at the websites of the LGBT organisations Kaos GL, Lambda Istanbul, and Pink Life, an Ankara-based organisation for transvestites and transsexuals.
It should be noted that the forcible “cleansing” of a district of Istanbul of transsexuals and transvestite which took place in 1996 (see “The environment of transgender sex workers ” above) has been repeated in Ankara and other cities (see below) in 2006.
Another murder of a transvestite!
At 15.07.2004 at 2 am in Cevizlibað, one of our transgendered friends was run over by a car while she was running away from the police. She couldn't be identified because of the fact that her face was deformed during the accident. Despite the objection of her friends, her body was sent to morgue without waiting for the attorney, using the excuse that it blocks the traffic circuit. Generally even for a little scratch in the car, the traffic is hindered until the authorities come. This made us realise that the life of a transgendered person is less valuable than a scratch of a car. Therefore another death of a transgender is concealed; and the car which made the accident has disappeared.
Turkish Transgenders Want an End to Violence Towards Them
On November 17, 2004 a transvestite by the name of Hulya was working as a sex worker on Baghdad Street in Istanbul. After she had sex with one of her customers, he asked her to do something that she was not willing to do. When she refused to do the act, he threatened her with a gun and said he was a policeman and he would take her to a police station if she did not comply. When she asked to see his ID he showed her his ID but she was not able to read the information. He then drove her to a place where there were other policemen and left her with them. When she tried to explain that she was threatened by this guy with a gun, instead of doing something to the guy they began to beat her and took her to a police station. Once at the station they continued to beat her and broke her arms and injured one of her feet. Then they wrote a report stating that she refused their demands and based on that the District Attorney of Kadikoy arrested her and sent her to Umraniye prison.
Kaos GL statement on “cleansing” of Eryaman district Ankara of transvestites and transsexuals
Beginning in April 2006, there have been physical attacks against transvestites and transsexuals living in Eryaman, a neighbourhood outside Ankara where some transvestites and transsexuals also work in the sex trade. Some victims went to the police and filed a formal complaint against the attackers. However, the police did not do anything to protect them, even when they personally witnessed such attacks. The perpetrators attacked some of the transvestites and transsexuals in their homes and even shot one of them in the arm. These attacks continued until all of the transvestites and transsexuals were forced to move to other cities or neighbourhoods to escape the terror. Today, no transvestites or transsexual is living in Eryman.
These attacks were not simple criminal acts. They were intended to force transvestites and transsexuals to move to other places. Furthermore, the victims think that governmental forces assisted the attackers. Similar attacks are going on in other neighbourhoods of Ankara, Bursa and Istanbul.
Systematic Attacks Against Turkish Transgenders Continue
On January 16, 2007, some people who were in a green Ford Taunus attacked the transgender people who were walking down on Kolej and Baglar Streets of Ankara. Four transgenders were injured seriously.
Hate homicide in Bursa
August 2007: …. One of the recent victims of this hate was the 22-year-old, transvestite sex worker Ece who had lived in Bursa. She was stabbed and murdered on August 18 by a man because she refused his offer to make sex. Ece’s 19-year-old friend Didem, who wanted to protect Ece during the event, was wounded from her hand. Ece and Didem had made a press statement together with their friends on August 13, just five days before this event, in order to tell that they did not want to do sex work and made job application to Bursa City Directorate of Turkish Labour Institution.”
How many more need to die!
16/10/2007: In last week, assaults against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) people have increased, while two people were murdered, one person was hospitalized. On Wednesday evening, October the 3rd, the dead body of our friend M.U.M., who worked as a DJ at a bar in Beyoðlu, was found by his close friend in his flat in Niþantaþý hours after his death. The police, who came to investigate the case, found M.U.M. naked in her bed and detected that she was murdered, her throat having been cut and had several hit marks on her body, while her laptop and cellular phone had also been stolen.
Furthermore, on Friday morning, October the 6th, our friends S.D and F.D have invited the customers they met in Tarlabaþý to their house, and after having an argument, they have been subject to a brutal attack from their customers and as a consequence, S.D was murdered, her throat having been cut. F.D, who was caught by the murderers as she was trying to escape the place, has gotten deadly pounds on the neck and several other parts of the body and was abandoned since the attackers thought she was dead. After being in a coma for several days, when F.D finally regained consciousness, she gave a statement to the police so that the picture of the murderers could be drawn.
Until October 2007, except the incidents mentioned above, 14 other cases of assault and murder in Turkey have appeared in the media. Moreover, we do not know the number of the cases that have not made it to the pages of newspapers.”
5. Legal recognition of transsexuals
The position regarding legal recognition of transsexuals is summarised in the following abstract from The Legal Status of Transsexuals in Turkey by Yesim Atamer . While the abstract shows that there have been positive developments, Article 40 of the Civil Code still requires that individuals must first undergo sterilization before they can begin the process of gender reassignment.
The development of the legal regulations concerning transsexuals in Turkey can be analysed in three phases. The first phase was prior to 1988 when there were no legal parameters at all. The second phase started in 1988 when certain changes made in the Turkish Civil Code (TCC) for the first time gave people who had already undergone sex reassignment surgery (SRS) the possibility to enter this change into the birth register. The third phase commenced in 2002 when the new Turkish Civil Code came into force.1 Art.40 of the Code now regulates the pre-conditions for a surgery and the procedure for getting a court authorisation in order to be operated as well as the procedure for entering the sex change into the birth register after the operation.
Appendix 3
Protection for gender identity under the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Justice
1. European Court of Human Rights
Legal recognition of gender reassignment
- B. v. France (25 March 1992) (Court judgment) (violation of Article 8, private life) (France required to change legal sex on birth certificate)
- Christine Goodwin v. U.K., I. v. U.K. (11 July 2002) (Court judgments) (violation of Article 8, private life) (U.K. required to change legal sex on birth certificate)
- Grant v. U.K. (23 May 2006) (Court judgment) (violation of Article 8, private life) (U.K. required to grant pension to post-operative transsexual woman at same age as other women)
Right of a transsexual person to contract a different-sex legal marriage
Christine Goodwin v. U.K., I. v. U.K. (11 July 2002) (Court judgments) (violation of Article 12 by 17 votes to 0) (U.K. required to permit transsexual persons to marry a person of the sex opposite to their reassigned sex)
Rights of transsexual parents
- derives from Christine Goodwin and I., because recognition of transsexual men as legal fathers, where their non-transsexual female partners have undergone donor insemination, will follow from recognition of transsexual men as legal men
Insurance coverage for medical expenses related to gender reassignment
- van Kück v. Germany (12 June 2003) (Court judgment) (violation of Article 8, private life) (where insurance plan covers "medically necessary" treatment, gender reassignment must be included)
Access to gender reassignment treatments needed in order to receive legal recognition in new gender
– L v. Lithuania (11 September 2007) (Court judgment) (violation of Article 8 -- L’s right to private and family life contravened when he was unable to obtain in Lithuania the gender reassignment treatments he needed)
2. European Court of Justice
- Case C-13/94, P. v. S. and Cornwall County Council (30 April 1996),
[1996] European Court Reports (ECR) I-2143,
http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/search/search_case.html (Year = 1994)
(dismissal of transsexual employee was sex discrimination contrary to Council Directive 76/207/EEC)
- Case C-117/01, K.B. v. National Health Service Pensions Agency (7 Jan. 2004), [2004] ECR I-0000 (ineligibility of transsexual male partner of non-transsexual female employee for survivor's pension, because they are currently unable to marry, was in principle sex discrimination contrary to Article 141 of the EC Treaty)
- Case C-423/04, Richards v. Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (27 April 2006) (Council Directive 79/7/EEC requires that a post-operative transsexual woman be granted a retirement pension at 60, like other women, rather than at 65, as in the case of men)
Below is the submission by Kaos G.L. (Turkey), Lambda Istanbul (Turkey) and the International Lesbian and Gay Association (European Region) on the 14th National Report by Turkey on the implementation of the European Social Charter
European Social Charter
Submission by Kaos G.L. (Turkey), Lambda Istanbul (Turkey) and the International Lesbian and Gay Association (European Region) on the 14th National Report by Turkey on the implementation of the European Social Charter
Article 1.2: Prohibition of discrimination in employment on the ground of sexual orientation
Executive Summary
Against a background of widespread hostility to the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Turkey, full and effective protection from employment discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity is essential.
The extreme social exclusion experienced by many transgender persons is a matter of the gravest concern. Unable to find employment, many are forced into a life of sex work, where they face violence, police intimidation, being driven from their homes, and serious health risks.
Turkey’s employment legislation and policies are seriously defective with regard to sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination. We urge the Committee to return findings of non-conformity as follows:
• The main anti-discrimination provision of the Labour Act (Article 5) makes no specific reference to sexual orientation as a ground for non-discrimination (see paragraph 12).
• Turkey has no legislation specifically prohibiting discrimination in recruitment (see paragraph 13).
• Under Article 25 of the Labour Act an employer may terminate an employment contract for “immoral” behaviour. This needs to be re-drafted to exclude the possibility of LGBT people being dismissed on this ground (see paragraph 17).
• Given the extensive employment discrimination faced by transgender persons, and the very serious consequences for all aspects of their lives, specific legislation and policies are required to provide protection from discrimination on the ground of gender identity (see paragraph 24).
• Turkey’s treatment of LGBT persons with regard to service in the armed forces is discriminatory (see paragraph 34).
• Turkey has failed to implement any policies or programmes to combat sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination in employment and to work with employers’ and workers’ organisations in this field. Moreover there is an absence of any effective action by Human Rights Province and District Boards to combat such discrimination (see paragraph 38).
I The general situation of LGBT people in Turkey
1. Turkish society and institutions remain generally hostile to the rights of LGBT people.
2. The effects of this hostility on the lives of LGBT people are illustrated by the findings of a survey of 393 lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons in Istanbul published in March 2006.
• 83% of respondents concealed their sexual orientation from some or all of their family members. Of those who were students (160), 82% concealed their sexual orientation from all or some of their teachers and school mates. Of those who were in employment (268), 88% concealed their sexual orientation from all or some co-workers, employees, employers or directors.
• Despite the high level of concealment, 23% of the 393 persons interviewed had experienced physical violence because of their sexual orientation, while 87% had experienced verbal harassment, ostracism etc.
3. Some examples of the ways in which this hostility find expression are as follows:
• Hate crimes, including murders, are a serious problem for the LGBT community. The assistant police commissioner for Istanbul province is reported to have stated that between 1996 and 2003 36 murders of LGBT people were recorded. Concern over such incidents, as well as over the failure of police to investigate them properly, was expressed in the most recent report by the European Commission on the accession of Turkey to the EU.
• There have been attempts to deny legal registration to every LGBT human rights defender organisation that has sought such recognition. One case, that brought by the Governor of Istanbul against a co-author of this report, the Lambda Istanbul Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transvestite and Transsexual Solidarity Association, is still proceeding.
• In August 2006 police in Bursa prevented an authorised demonstration against initiatives by the governor of Bursa to ban an LGBT organisation in that city. Some 100 LGBT demonstrators were trapped before the start of the march inside a community centre by a hostile crowd of 500 football fans, one of whose leaders called upon the authorities to prevent the march "if they do not want them [the demonstrators] to be lynched". The police “cancelled” the march, while making no attempt to disperse the crowd.
• Lesbians face particular problems, being exposed to discrimination on the basis of both their gender and their sexual orientation. In many social groups women in Turkey represent the “honour” of their families and community. Many lesbians are obliged to marry because of societal and economic pressure. In January 2005 a husband who killed his wife’s girlfriend was given a diminished punishment by Istanbul Second District Criminal Court of Major Cases because his wife’s lesbianism was considered “unjust provocation”.
• In 2006 Kaos GL’s magazine was prosecuted for alleged “obscenity”. The incident is the subject of a case under the European Convention on Human Rights.
4. Transgender people face particularly severe problems. These are examined in more detail in section III (iv) below.
5. The non-discrimination Article of the Turkish Constitution contains a non-exhaustive list of prohibited grounds, but does not refer specifically to sexual orientation.
6. In January 2004 the Justice Commission of the Turkish Parliament tried to add “sexual orientation” to the non-discrimination clause of the Turkish Criminal Code. However, the Minister of Justice subsequently insisted on the removal of this terminology from the draft legislation, arguing that the term ‘sexual orientation’ was a similar to the term ‘sex’ and that since this was already mentioned in the non-discrimination Article (10) of the Turkish Constitution, there was no need for such a reference in the criminal code.
II.The obligations of Contracting Parties
7. Under Article 1.2 Contracting Parties undertake “to protect effectively the right of the worker to earn his living in an occupation freely entered upon”.
8. Under Article E of the Charter, Contracting Parties undertake that the enjoyment of the rights set forth in the Charter “shall be secured without discrimination on any ground such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national extraction or social origin, health, association with a national minority, birth or other status”.
9. The Committee has stated that it “considers that under Article 1§2 legislation should prohibit discrimination in employment at least on grounds of race, ethnic origin, religion, disability, age, sexual orientation and political opinion”.
10. Moreover, it has determined that the discriminated acts and provisions prohibited by this provision are ones that may occur in connection with recruitment or with employment conditions in general (in particular, remuneration, training, promotion, transfer and dismissal or other detrimental action).
III. Areas of non-conformity with the provisions of the Social Charter
(i) Employment conditions in general (in particular, remuneration, training, promotion, transfer and dismissal or other detrimental action)
11. Article 5 of the Labour Act of Turkey (see Appendix 1 for text) bans discrimination in employment on a number of grounds, but sexual orientation is not specifically included in the list. While the list is not exhaustive, referring to “similar reasons”, we do not consider that this provides sufficient protection to comply with the Social Charter. given
a. the general level of hostility to LGBT human rights in Turkey, and
b. the fact that certain other non-discrimination clauses in Turkish legislation which are exhaustive make no reference to sexual orientation.
12. Turkey’s legislation on employment conditions in general is not therefore in conformity with the provisions of the Social Charter, and we urge the Committee to return a finding of non-conformity.
(ii) Recruitment
13. Turkey has no legislation prohibiting discrimination in recruitment. In this field it is therefore also not in conformity with the provisions of the Social Charter, and we urge the Committee to return a finding of non-conformity.
(iii) “Immorality” clause in the Labour Act
14. The idea that same-sex relationships are “immoral” has been used in a number of contexts to oppose the exercise of rights by LGBT people, for example, in opposing the registration of LGBT organisations , and denying custody of her child to a lesbian mother .
15. Under Article 25 of the Labour Act (see Appendix 1 for full text) the employer may terminate an employment contract for
“immoral, dishonourable or malicious conduct or other similar behaviour”
There are reports that this Article has been used to dismiss employees because of their sexual orientation.
16. The case law of the ECHR is very clear that same-sex relationships are not “immoral”. On the contrary, the European Court of Human Rights has stressed that sexual orientation is a quality which is as deserving of protection from discrimination as sex, race and religion.
17. We urge the Committee to return a finding of non-conformity with the Social Charter in respect of Article 25 of the Labour Act, and to require the Article to be redrafted to exclude the possibility of LGBT people being dismissed from their jobs on the basis of “immorality”.
(iv) Discrimination in employment on the ground of gender identity
18. Many transgender persons in Turkey face extreme social exclusion as a result of gender identity discrimination. Employment discrimination is a particularly serious problem. Unable to find employment, many transgender persons feel they have no alternative but sex work, where they face violence, police intimidation, discrimination, and serious health risks.
19. Appendix 2 provides further information on the difficulties faced by transgender persons in Turkey, including individual accounts of problems in obtaining employment, the situation of transgender persons who become sex workers, the violence faced by transgender persons, and their maltreatment at the hands of the police. It also provides information on the current legal situation of transsexuals in Turkey, and an explanation of the terms transgender, transsexual, and transvestite.
20. Two of the accounts in Appendix 2 encapsulate the problems faced by so many transgender persons:
Gönül, singer:
“Transvestites who had a male identity card were banned from the stage. I became unemployed again. Because my appearance had changed, I could not find work in a factory… I had to do sex in exchange for money for the first time. On that day, I had just an egg and a half bread…. I cried when doing sex in exchange for money with the first man.”
Ece and Didem:
August 2007: “One of the recent victims of this hate was the 22-year-old, transvestite sex worker Ece who had lived in Bursa. She was stabbed and murdered on August 18 by a man because she refused his offer to make sex. Ece’s 19-year-old friend Didem, who wanted to protect Ece during the event, was wounded from her hand. Ece and Didem had made a press statement together with their friends on August 13, just five days before this event, in order to tell that they did not want to do sex work and made job application to Bursa City Directorate of Turkish Labour Institution.”
21. Although neither the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) nor your Committee has addressed the question of employment discrimination on the ground of gender identity, the ECtHR has, in recent years, delivered a series of judgments recognizing the rights of transgender people to legal recognition of their gender reassignment, to contract a different-sex legal marriage, to access gender reassignment treatments and (indirectly) to parenthood. Appendix 3 gives more information about these judgments.
22. In 1996, in P v. S Cornwall County Council, the European Court of Justice held that the Equal Treatment Directive (76/207/EEC) provided protection against discrimination on the ground of gender identity in employment, a position subsequently reiterated in the context of two pension related cases. Details of all three cases are included in Appendix 3.
23. This position has been further confirmed by the EC Directive on Equal Opportunities and Equal Treatment of Men and Women in matters of employment and occupation (2006/54/EC), whose preamble notes in paragraph 3 that “The Court of Justice has held that the scope of the principle of equal treatment for men and women cannot be confined to the prohibition of discrimination based on the fact that the person is of one or other sex. In view of its purpose and the nature of the rights which it seeks to safeguard, it also applies to discrimination arising from the gender reassignment of a person”.
24. In view of the extensive employment discrimination faced by transgender persons in Turkey, and the very serious consequences for all aspects of their lives, we urge the Committee to return a finding of non-conformity with the Social Charter with regard to the complete absence of any legal protection for transgender persons from discrimination in employment, and to require the Turkish authorities to introduce specific and explicit legislation to this end.
(v) The armed forces
25. Turkey's official policy regarding homosexuals and transgender persons in the armed forces is based on the notion that homosexuality is a psychosexual disorder.
26. The Turkish Social Foundation's Health Competencies Administration, which informs the approach of the Turkish armed forces, sets out the following ruling:
“Psychosexual disorders (homosexuality, transvestitism and others) DECLARATION: Those who come under this category are those whose sexual behavioural disorders are evident, the event of this being known in the military environment is an opening to complaint and this situation must be proven in official documentation.”
27. Implementation of this policy appears to be inconsistent, depending on the local military authority.
28. It is often implemented through an "unfit for service" report prepared by medical staff for recruits identified as homosexual or transgender. Until March 2006 obtaining an "unfit for service" report required such persons to undergo psychological tests, and sometimes to undergo anal examination and/or provide photographs of themselves taken during sexual intercourse.
29. A survey of LGBT people published in 2006 included 27 males who had applied for exemption from military service. Nearly one third were obliged to provide a photograph taken during sexual activity, and nearly two thirds were compelled to undergo anal examination.
30. Since March 2006 the requirement for photographs and anal examinations has been abolished, but the requirement to undergo psychological tests remains.
31. However, a different approach is sometimes used, as illustrated in one of the trials of the gay conscientious objector Mehmet Tarhan, in December 2005. The military court commented, in relation to the ruling quoted in paragraph 26 above, that "in order to be able to determine that a homosexual is unfit for military service, it is necessary to observe the individual's behaviour in the unit. It is possible to determine whether a homosexual individual's behaviour renders him unfit for military service in so far as the individual's homosexual behaviour is reflected in his interactions with the outside world. In other words, the individual’s homosexual behaviour should harm the discipline of his unit. If this is the case, the accused should, without remaining free even one day longer in the barracks, be taken into custody". This would imply that homosexuals can be considered "fit for service".
32. Either way, the approach is fundamentally discriminatory: homosexuality and transsexuality are deemed to be psychosexual disorders; and, LGBT people are either to be excluded from the military, or if they are to be allowed to serve, must be considered a distinct threat to discipline.
33. In 1999 the European Court of Human Rights ruled in Smith & Grady v. U.K., and Lustig-Prean & Beckett v. U.K that discharge from the armed forces on the ground of homosexuality was not justified under article 8.2 of the Convention. It is clear that the current policies of the Turkish armed forces are not consistent with these rulings.
34. We therefore urge the Committee to return a ruling of “non-conformity” in respect of the Turkish armed forces treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons, and require that policies are altered to allow equal access to employment in the armed forces.
(vi) Government measures to combat sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination in employment
35. There are no government measures to combat sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination in employment.
36. The government does not work with employers’ and workers’ organisations to combat such discrimination.
37. Human Rights Province and District Boards are Turkey’s main mechanism for responding to human rights violations and combating discrimination. There is no explicit policy requiring these Boards to combat sexual orientation or gender identity discrimination in employment and we know of no cases where they have done so.
38. In view of the serious concerns regarding discrimination in employment on the ground of sexual orientation and gender identity in Turkey, we urge the Committee to return a finding of non-conformity with the Social Charter in respect of the above, and to require the Turkish authorities to introduce practical measures to combat discrimination on these grounds.
Appendix 1
LABOUR ACT OF TURKEY
Law No. 4857 - 22.05.2003 - Published in the Official Gazette 0n 10 June 2003
1. Non-discrimination
“The principle of equal treatment:
Article 5. No discrimination based on language, race, sex, political opinion, philosophical belief, religion and sex or similar reasons is permissible in the employment relationship.
Unless there are essential reasons for differential treatment, the employer must not make any discrimination between a full-time and a part-time employee or an employee working under a fixed-term employment contract (contract made for a definite period) and one working under an open-ended employment contract (contract made for an indefinite period).
Except for biological reasons or reasons related to the nature of the job, the employer must not make any discrimination, either directly or indirectly, against an employee in the conclusion, conditions, execution and termination of his (her) employment contract due to the employee’s sex or maternity.
Differential remuneration for similar jobs or for work of equal value is not permissible.
Application of special protective provisions due to the employee’s sex shall not justify paying him (her) a lower wage.
If the employer violates the above provisions in the execution or termination of the employment relationship, the employee may demand compensation up his (her) four months’ wages plus other claims of which he (she) has been deprived. Article 31 of the Trade Unions Act is reserved.
While the provisions of Article 20 are reserved, the burden of proof in regard to the violation of the above – stated provisions by the employer rests on the employee.
However, if the employee shows a strong likelihood of such a violation, the burden of proof that the alleged violation has not materialised shall rest on the employer.”
2. “Immorality” provisions
The breaking of the employment contract by the initiative of the employer (summary termination):
Article 25. The employer may break the contract, whether for a definite or indefinite period, before its expiry or without having to comply with the prescribed notice periods, in the following cases:
[…..]
For immoral, dishonourable or malicious conduct or other similar behaviour
[…..]
Appendix 2
The difficulties faced by transgender persons in Turkey
1. Introduction
Many transgender persons in Turkey face extreme social exclusion as a result of gender identity discrimination. Employment discrimination is a particularly serious problem. Unable to find employment, many are forced into a life of sex work, where they face violence, police intimidation, discrimination, being driven from their homes, and serious health risks.
The purpose of this Appendix is to set the employment problems in a broader context, and to give a clear understanding of the need for specific measures, legal and practical, to combat discrimination on the grounds of gender identity and gender expression. Separate sections document difficulties in employment, the environment for sex workers, violence and discrimination, and the current state of legal situation of transsexuals.
“Transgender” is a broad term referring to all persons who express gender in ways not traditionally associated with their sex. The two principal groups covered by this term are:
• Transsexuals - persons whose sex assigned at birth does not conform to the gender with which they identify. Many will have started hormone therapies and some will have undergone gender reassignment surgeries.
• Transvestites - generally men, who wear the clothing of the ‘opposite’ sex, but are not necessarily transsexuals.
2. Employment
In an article published in GaciIstanbul Magazine in 2005 individual transvestite and transsexual persons recounted the problems experienced attempting to find work. Some of the stories also touch on harassment by work colleagues and the police, and violence. The texts which follow are abbreviated.
Gönül / Singer
I started to sing as a soloist in several nightclubs in 1987 when child singers and arabesque songs were popular..... after child singers and arabesque songs lost their popularity, I could not find a job with my male identity card. In 1994 I became a transvestite. The nightclub owners who once told me that they did not want male soloists wanted me now. I was returned to the stage by a magic wand and I became fine both financially and psychologically.... this situation continued until 1998 when the illegal and meaningless practices of the police started... transvestites who had a male identity card were banned from the stage. I became unemployed again. Because my appearance had changed, I could not find work in a factory. Because of this reason, I had to do sex in exchange for money for the first time. On that day, I had just an egg and a half bread which was in my refrigerator for two days. I cried when doing sex in exchange for money with the first man. And we are now in 2005. The tears which do not fall from my eyes any more fall to my heart quietly. Long live the Turkish police!"
Deniz / Journalist
After graduating from the Faculty of Communication Department of Journalism of ...... University, I started to work as a correspondent in a national newspaper. I worked there for five years. I was able to get the yellow press card during my second year. During the first years, I did not face many problems because I did not reveal my gender identity. Despite all my efforts, people could notice my effeminate identity..... so I started to say yes to the implied or direct question as to whether I was a transvestite. ...... I had a job in which I was face to face with people and my existence became a problem..... I had to be silent because I did not want the newspaper, in which I was working, to know that my gender identity became a problem when I was working outside. I was working in a right-wing newspaper and when there was a change of management, I was not given another chance. I searched for a job for one year after I was fired, but I did not get a positive response from the places I applied to. Now I do sex work, or in other words prostitution.
Ceren / Journalist
I worked in three newspapers for more than five years. Two of them were local newspapers and the other one was a national newspaper. Although I was successful at my work, I was fired because of my gender identity. Despite my important contributions to my newspaper, I realised that my magnetic entrance card did not work one day. In the note that was sent to my house later, it was written that "we cannot work with you any more because our lifestyles are different." I did not hide my gender identity at my workplace. I was very successful at my work. I always was the most successful journalist. I worked in a nightclub for two years after I was fired. I do sex work now.
Esin /Teacher
I am a teacher in a school administered by the Ministry of Education..... I have a transsexual gender identity and I want to gain approval for the sex change operation. Because the hormones I take as part of the treatment caused several changes in my body, I have experienced several problems at the school and also outside. Other teachers always make fun of me because of my gender identity. Because my treatment continues, I rarely go out at night dressed up in female clothes. However, although I stated that I was a teacher, I was held in custody by the police a couple of times because I was a transvestite. I was insulted and beaten. A criminal record about me was prepared by claiming that I did prostitution. My only wish is continuing my profession in another school after changing my sex through legal ways. But the difficulties I have experienced up to now make me think that continuing my profession will not be easy.
Eylem / University Graduate
I graduated from Istanbul University Sociology Department in 2005 and started to work in a company named Profil Danismanlik. But there were only male workers at the company and my gender identity became the subject of their jokes. They were harassing me by swearing at homosexuality while I was working. I could only work there for one year although I was one of the most successful workers. I experienced the same result in my other working attempts. I try not to do prostitution. I hope I will succeed.
Özlem / Hairdresser
I was a hairdresser for men before I started to do sex work as a transvestite. I was raped by my boss at the last hairdresser's shop in which I worked in Kadiköy. While I was washing the dishes in the basement of the hairdresser's shop, my boss started to touch his penis after going out from the toilet. I tried to continue to wash the dishes as if I did not see him. But he attacked me suddenly. Because he threatened me with firing and telling everybody that I was a homosexual, I had to do sex with him. Then, other workers at the hairdresser's shop did also sex with me by threatening me. I was fired later. My effeminate identity became a problem for me in other jobs in which I worked later. I do sex work now.
Eylem
"I took my first steps to be a woman during the previous months. I had postponed this decision for years, as I feared that I would be unemployed and have to do sex work.... however, after I was fired from the last job in which I was working in a male appearance, because of my identity, I understood exactly that being fired or unemployed was not related to my appearance, in other words, whether I was seen as a male or a transgender person. Besides, I realised that I probably would not earn enough money to be a transgender person. So, I decided to take the first steps.... I took out my wig, my blouses for summer and my transgender type trousers. I shaved off my beard and powdered my face..... so, I got the appearance I dreamed of for years. I was the happiest person in the world. But this was just the beginning. ..... in short, the most important problem for me was finding a job in which I could work with my real identity. I was determined not to do sex work.
I started to search for a job with my female identity. I prepared a CV with my transgender name Eylem, and I e-mailed it to the workplaces in which I thought that I would be able to or I wanted to work. I also want to emphasise that I wrote that I was a transvestite in the gender section in my CV. But of course, I received negative responses mostly. 90% of the people calling offered me sex. However, I was determined to be motivated, not to be demoralised. My plan was making 50 job applications per day! And I did them.
A publishing company invited me for a job interview within a couple of weeks. I was accepted. I went home singing and dancing on that day."
3. The environment for transgender sex workers
Dr Muhtar Cokar of the Human Resource Development Foundation has given the following background in an article published in the 2006 year review of Kaos GL :
"In Turkey, sex work is regulated by laws. One needs to obtain official approval in order to engage in sex work as an occupation. Registered sex workers are required to attend regular medical check-ups for sexual transmitted diseases in certain government clinics. Government records indicate that the total number of registered sex workers in Istanbul is approximately 125, however it is estimated that there are as many as 30,000 people who work as illegal sex workers in the city. Illegal sex workers are subject to discrimination and stigmatisation by official and non-official groups. Transgender (transsexual/transvestite) sex workers and migrant sex workers are the most vulnerable groups among the illegal sex workers.
Transgender sex workers are adversely affected both by the unfavourable conditions in their sector and the community’s pressure against their sexual practices. The majority of the population is prejudiced against homosexuality, as well as transgender people, and therefore discriminate against these groups….. there is a demand for the transgender groups in the commercial sector. Transgendered, who decide to become sex workers, mainly come from lower social income families with low educational backgrounds. Therefore they find it hard to find regular jobs, which leads them to get into the commercial sex business.
Until the 1990s, transgender sex workers used to live and work in certain districts of Istanbul, in large groups, which would provide them with a more secure and safe living and health conditions. In 1996, with increasing pressure from the community, the police forced them to move out of these districts and they have started living in smaller groups all around the city. They have started working on the main highways, which make them especially vulnerable to physical and sexual violence. The are easily hit by cars and, quite frequently, they either get seriously injured or die. When they are arrested by the police, they are physically and psychologically abused. However, the legal system does not operate properly in order to prevent the abuse and violence….. under these conditions, transgender sex workers not only lack access to civic rights, they are left to their own devices to fight for their rights to life. Furthermore, the pressure from society, and authorities, have diminished the collaboration and support among these groups, which has made them to become more vulnerable to destructive societal and environmental factors…..
One of the major problems of the illegal sex workers is their lack of access to health services. The staff at most clinics and hospitals have negative attitudes towards sex workers and prostitution. They do not respect the privacy and confidentiality of their clients. Sex workers avoid health services as a consequence of such an attitude. The sex workers would prefer to obtain health services anonymously. Additionally, information on sexually transmitted infections and HIV/aids is not provided in the existing health services, where the emphasis is more on treatment. Sex workers are subject to discrimination and stigmatisation. Their lack of access to legal, social and health services make them vulnerable. There are no agencies or organisations, which provide any support or services to these groups.
Turkey is still in the early stages of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.... Condom use among sex workers is low, and, although awareness and fear of AIDS is high, relatively few know how HIV is transmitted or about the protection afforded by condoms."
4. Violence and discrimination
The following are examples of the violence and harassment experienced by transgender people recorded at the websites of the LGBT organisations Kaos GL, Lambda Istanbul, and Pink Life, an Ankara-based organisation for transvestites and transsexuals.
It should be noted that the forcible “cleansing” of a district of Istanbul of transsexuals and transvestite which took place in 1996 (see “The environment of transgender sex workers ” above) has been repeated in Ankara and other cities (see below) in 2006.
Another murder of a transvestite!
At 15.07.2004 at 2 am in Cevizlibað, one of our transgendered friends was run over by a car while she was running away from the police. She couldn't be identified because of the fact that her face was deformed during the accident. Despite the objection of her friends, her body was sent to morgue without waiting for the attorney, using the excuse that it blocks the traffic circuit. Generally even for a little scratch in the car, the traffic is hindered until the authorities come. This made us realise that the life of a transgendered person is less valuable than a scratch of a car. Therefore another death of a transgender is concealed; and the car which made the accident has disappeared.
Turkish Transgenders Want an End to Violence Towards Them
On November 17, 2004 a transvestite by the name of Hulya was working as a sex worker on Baghdad Street in Istanbul. After she had sex with one of her customers, he asked her to do something that she was not willing to do. When she refused to do the act, he threatened her with a gun and said he was a policeman and he would take her to a police station if she did not comply. When she asked to see his ID he showed her his ID but she was not able to read the information. He then drove her to a place where there were other policemen and left her with them. When she tried to explain that she was threatened by this guy with a gun, instead of doing something to the guy they began to beat her and took her to a police station. Once at the station they continued to beat her and broke her arms and injured one of her feet. Then they wrote a report stating that she refused their demands and based on that the District Attorney of Kadikoy arrested her and sent her to Umraniye prison.
Kaos GL statement on “cleansing” of Eryaman district Ankara of transvestites and transsexuals
Beginning in April 2006, there have been physical attacks against transvestites and transsexuals living in Eryaman, a neighbourhood outside Ankara where some transvestites and transsexuals also work in the sex trade. Some victims went to the police and filed a formal complaint against the attackers. However, the police did not do anything to protect them, even when they personally witnessed such attacks. The perpetrators attacked some of the transvestites and transsexuals in their homes and even shot one of them in the arm. These attacks continued until all of the transvestites and transsexuals were forced to move to other cities or neighbourhoods to escape the terror. Today, no transvestites or transsexual is living in Eryman.
These attacks were not simple criminal acts. They were intended to force transvestites and transsexuals to move to other places. Furthermore, the victims think that governmental forces assisted the attackers. Similar attacks are going on in other neighbourhoods of Ankara, Bursa and Istanbul.
Systematic Attacks Against Turkish Transgenders Continue
On January 16, 2007, some people who were in a green Ford Taunus attacked the transgender people who were walking down on Kolej and Baglar Streets of Ankara. Four transgenders were injured seriously.
Hate homicide in Bursa
August 2007: …. One of the recent victims of this hate was the 22-year-old, transvestite sex worker Ece who had lived in Bursa. She was stabbed and murdered on August 18 by a man because she refused his offer to make sex. Ece’s 19-year-old friend Didem, who wanted to protect Ece during the event, was wounded from her hand. Ece and Didem had made a press statement together with their friends on August 13, just five days before this event, in order to tell that they did not want to do sex work and made job application to Bursa City Directorate of Turkish Labour Institution.”
How many more need to die!
16/10/2007: In last week, assaults against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) people have increased, while two people were murdered, one person was hospitalized. On Wednesday evening, October the 3rd, the dead body of our friend M.U.M., who worked as a DJ at a bar in Beyoðlu, was found by his close friend in his flat in Niþantaþý hours after his death. The police, who came to investigate the case, found M.U.M. naked in her bed and detected that she was murdered, her throat having been cut and had several hit marks on her body, while her laptop and cellular phone had also been stolen.
Furthermore, on Friday morning, October the 6th, our friends S.D and F.D have invited the customers they met in Tarlabaþý to their house, and after having an argument, they have been subject to a brutal attack from their customers and as a consequence, S.D was murdered, her throat having been cut. F.D, who was caught by the murderers as she was trying to escape the place, has gotten deadly pounds on the neck and several other parts of the body and was abandoned since the attackers thought she was dead. After being in a coma for several days, when F.D finally regained consciousness, she gave a statement to the police so that the picture of the murderers could be drawn.
Until October 2007, except the incidents mentioned above, 14 other cases of assault and murder in Turkey have appeared in the media. Moreover, we do not know the number of the cases that have not made it to the pages of newspapers.”
5. Legal recognition of transsexuals
The position regarding legal recognition of transsexuals is summarised in the following abstract from The Legal Status of Transsexuals in Turkey by Yesim Atamer . While the abstract shows that there have been positive developments, Article 40 of the Civil Code still requires that individuals must first undergo sterilization before they can begin the process of gender reassignment.
The development of the legal regulations concerning transsexuals in Turkey can be analysed in three phases. The first phase was prior to 1988 when there were no legal parameters at all. The second phase started in 1988 when certain changes made in the Turkish Civil Code (TCC) for the first time gave people who had already undergone sex reassignment surgery (SRS) the possibility to enter this change into the birth register. The third phase commenced in 2002 when the new Turkish Civil Code came into force.1 Art.40 of the Code now regulates the pre-conditions for a surgery and the procedure for getting a court authorisation in order to be operated as well as the procedure for entering the sex change into the birth register after the operation.
Appendix 3
Protection for gender identity under the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Justice
1. European Court of Human Rights
Legal recognition of gender reassignment
- B. v. France (25 March 1992) (Court judgment) (violation of Article 8, private life) (France required to change legal sex on birth certificate)
- Christine Goodwin v. U.K., I. v. U.K. (11 July 2002) (Court judgments) (violation of Article 8, private life) (U.K. required to change legal sex on birth certificate)
- Grant v. U.K. (23 May 2006) (Court judgment) (violation of Article 8, private life) (U.K. required to grant pension to post-operative transsexual woman at same age as other women)
Right of a transsexual person to contract a different-sex legal marriage
Christine Goodwin v. U.K., I. v. U.K. (11 July 2002) (Court judgments) (violation of Article 12 by 17 votes to 0) (U.K. required to permit transsexual persons to marry a person of the sex opposite to their reassigned sex)
Rights of transsexual parents
- derives from Christine Goodwin and I., because recognition of transsexual men as legal fathers, where their non-transsexual female partners have undergone donor insemination, will follow from recognition of transsexual men as legal men
Insurance coverage for medical expenses related to gender reassignment
- van Kück v. Germany (12 June 2003) (Court judgment) (violation of Article 8, private life) (where insurance plan covers "medically necessary" treatment, gender reassignment must be included)
Access to gender reassignment treatments needed in order to receive legal recognition in new gender
– L v. Lithuania (11 September 2007) (Court judgment) (violation of Article 8 -- L’s right to private and family life contravened when he was unable to obtain in Lithuania the gender reassignment treatments he needed)
2. European Court of Justice
- Case C-13/94, P. v. S. and Cornwall County Council (30 April 1996),
[1996] European Court Reports (ECR) I-2143,
http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/search/search_case.html (Year = 1994)
(dismissal of transsexual employee was sex discrimination contrary to Council Directive 76/207/EEC)
- Case C-117/01, K.B. v. National Health Service Pensions Agency (7 Jan. 2004), [2004] ECR I-0000 (ineligibility of transsexual male partner of non-transsexual female employee for survivor's pension, because they are currently unable to marry, was in principle sex discrimination contrary to Article 141 of the EC Treaty)
- Case C-423/04, Richards v. Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (27 April 2006) (Council Directive 79/7/EEC requires that a post-operative transsexual woman be granted a retirement pension at 60, like other women, rather than at 65, as in the case of men)