Senem Doganoglu Holds a bachelor’s degree from the Ankara University Law Faculty, Turkey (2003), and an LLM in Criminal and Criminal Procedure Law from the same University (2008). In 2004, she was admitted as a legal practitioner to the Ankara Bar Association, Turkey. She has been working pro bono for human rights organizations such as Human Rights Association, Kaos GL Association , Pembe Hayat , LGBT Solidarity Association, and Roma Ankara, as an attorney, mostly specializing in discrimination issues. She still works in private practice.

Can you tell us briefly about your background and how you came to become involved in this work?
In 2006, in the district of Eryaman, in Ankara, Turkey, gang members who identify themselves as Turkish nationalists began attacking transgender people. Gang members physically harassed transgender sex workers and caused serious physical damage to their health including, beating and inflicting injury by firearms and knives. It was the first time the public “recognized” transgender people and it was also the first time transgender people were gathering. Those were the days I started working as an attorney for Pembe Hayat, which was established to advocate for the rights of transgender people. Finally, in 2006, gang members raided the household of transgender sex workers and threatened them to abandon their dwelling area of the district. Transgender people had no choice but to leave the district and moved to the district of Esat, in Ankara. They were followed and harassed by the same gang members over here also. The harassment continued until February 2007, when the police took four gang members into custody. After that time, Pembe Hayat and I attended all the hearings. Since 2006, I have been involved in the transgender rights movement.

Can you talk a little about the history of transgender and transvestite people in Turkey?
It is the history of stigmatization, marginalization, and the denial and deprivation of fundamental human rights. Briefly, transgender people are subjected to lots of human rights violations such as discrimination, isolation, physical violence, ill treatment, and prevention of economic, social and cultural rights. On the other hand, they have been a dominant component of the underground world. They are mostly coerced to live at nights, working as sex workers or working in the entertainment industry. It has been three years since they started to be organized. It is not wrong to say that a new trans-history is being written down. It is a history of a sui generis resistance. Let’s say it is the war or existence.

Anecdotally, one of our transgender friends could be murdered while people would be watching and cheering the famous singer, Bulent Ersoy, who is also a well known transgender individual at the same time. It is the big dilemma and the historic appearance of transgender people in Turkey…

Tell us about the current wave of assaults on transgendered people in Turkey.
All over the country we are informed about the assaults. Every three days, transgender people are being targeted to violent crimes. Hate-motivated homicides have been committed against transgender people, fortnightly, since February. In March, there have been two homicides, and five violent attacks have been reported. On the 10th of April again, one of our transgender friends, Melek, was killed in her house. In many cases, transgender people are victims of hate crimes because they are perceived as a disgrace to moral values held by the majority of the population. They become the subject of attacks only because of the way that they exist, because of the way they are. Hence, they all are considered “gender outlaws.” In some cases, we recognize transphobic motives along with racist and political motives. Police repeatedly fail to take sufficient action. Likewise in many cases perpetrators have never been caught.

Briefly tell us about an important case that has tested laws or challenged public opinion in some way.
As I mentioned earlier, a case known as the “Eryaman Case” is good practice for us. The court gave a verdict on the 17th of October, stating that this [gang harassment] is a form of organized crime. The court defined the group as one that gathered in order to threaten transsexual individuals to abandon their lives with a motivation of prejudice. Let me remind you, there is no such provision in the Penal Codes, which sets forth the category of “hate crimes” in a clear and definite manner. Before the perpetrators were caught, Pembe Hayat members started a campaign. On Thursdays, we were lighting candles on the most crowded street of Ankara and reading press releases, calling on authorities to find the perpetrators. By the courtesy of this campaign, there has been recognition of transgender people and a widespread self-criticism beyond human rights activists. This case both changed public opinion and the approach of judicial authorities. Moreover LGBT associations, human rights organizations and women rights movement members, all attended the hearings and monitored the trial.

Are most transgender people sex workers?
Transgender people are denied their natural rights such as rights to education, work, health, social security and even the right to live because of their gender identities. Thus, unable to find regular/formal jobs, many transgender individuals work as sex workers. Concurrently, it becomes hard to survive as a sex worker while conservatism is rising. Nonetheless transgender people have been increasingly visible for the past three years. Parallel to this situation, their problems, arising from being transgender sex workers, also have become more visible.

How has police treatment of gays, transvestites and transsexuals changed over the past 20 years?
First of all when a gay or transgender individual raises a claim as a victim of a crime, they aren’t mostly heard because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Mostly, the process is antagonized and they become the defendant.

Crimes committed against transgender people go mostly unpunished. As their rights are usually violated by police forces, their complaints aren’t adjudicated. Besides, transgender people are mainly subjected to ill treatment and torture. Transgender individuals are commonly victimized by the ambiguous provisions in the Turkish Penal Code like, “public morality,” “obscenity,” “exhibitionism,” and “unnatural intercourse.”

Even though it is not illegal to be a prostitute in Turkey, sex workers are subjected to arbitrary arrest, house raids, ill treatment and torture. The houses where transgender individuals live are raided by police forces with a ‘prostitution’ claim and the mayor officially, but not legally, demands that these houses be sealed. They are coerced to vacate their own houses and are forced to live outdoors, as it takes a long time to reverse and annul the sealing. Transgender people are fined up to 140 Turkish Liras (appx. $87) illegally, with the excuse of the Misdemeanour Code’s provisions such as disobeying rules, public disturbance and making noise.

Over the past 20 years, police have created new instruments to pressurize the transgender community. The new wave is an attitude of fiscal punishment. Briefly, the nature of the torture is changing but it is not expiring.

What is the response of political and legislative bodies in Turkey to the violence against transgender people and the new activists?
In Turkey, the legislative, judicial and administrative authorities prefer to use criminal sanctions in order to protect the dominant nationality, religion, race, gender, language, sexual orientation etc., instead of considering the minorities. It would be fair to conclude that in Turkey, the majority’s well being has always been more important than minorities’ rights. For instance, on April 16, 2008, Mrs. Sabahat Tuncel, a member of the Assembly, from the Democratic Society Party, submitted a motion to the Minister of Justice asking, “what is the main working area of the Ministry, if it is not preventing discrimination based on sexual orientation?” And the Minister replied by stating, “since we see all people equal before the law, we don’t believe in the necessity of working on specific groups.” The approach that the Minister of Justice took indicates the general climate of public discourse towards LGBT people in Turkey. The government neither protects minorities nor does it understand their need for recognition.

About new activists, the process of becoming organized is also troubled for LGBT people. The Bureau of Associations, which is affiliated to Ministry of Interior, orientates their applications to Prosecution Offices with a claim that, “to form [that] kind of association is immoral and contrary to Turkish family structure.” This is an official demand to shut down newly formed, but not legally founded, LGBT associations. These obstructive approaches and practices negatively affect both LGBTT individuals and LGBT associations. Besides, there is still a closure case going on against Lambda, an LGBT association, founded in Istanbul.

Can you talk about the new wave of activism supporting homosexual, transvestite and transgender people?
The organizations are founded on the basis of LGBT rights advocating groups. Pembe Hayat, also defines itself as an LGBT organization but it is specialized in transgender rights since most of the members are transgender. There are four associations and three initiatives in Turkey working on LGBT rights. All organizations collaborate with local or national human rights organizations and vice versa—the main human rights organizations and women rights movement actors support their activities and collaborate with the LGBT movement. This fact makes LGBT people more visible and of course, their problems become more visible. Inevitably it changes public opinion. The experiences we had while dealing with violence or hate incidents against the LGBT community has taught us that gathering with other minorities, [and them with us,] in order to fight against discrimination and hate crimes, is the best strategy we can count on.

On April 18, we learned that the perpatrator of Melek's homicide was caught. We hope he won't be released...

-- Senem Doganoglu

Past Close Up Articles

Jim Harrington, Director, Texas Civil Rights Project
Prof. Brian Levin, Director, Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism
Juliana Rotich, Program Director, Ushahidi.com
Christina Iturralde, LatinoJustice PRLDEF
Anene Ejikeme Assistant Professor, Trinity University
Alexander Verkhovsky, Director, SOVA Center for Information and Analysis (Moscow)
Innokenty Grekov, Human Rights First
Paul St. Clair, Executive Director, Roma Community Centre
Rev. Allan Ramirez, Latino Advocate
Dr. Agapito López, M.D.
Bill Habern, defense attorney
Anya Cordell, activist
Rais Bhuiyan, survivor
Allison Moore, Volunteer