15/10/2025 | Writer: Kaos GL
The bill draft obtained by KaosGL.org earlier this year has turned into the draft of the 11th Judicial Package. If the draft passes, it will pave the way for the imprisonment of LGBTI+ people, and the age for “gender reassignment” will be raised to 25.
Photo: Yusuf Çelik / csgorselarsiv.org
Significant provisions targeting LGBTI+ people are included in the draft of the 11th Judicial Package, which is expected to be submitted to Parliament soon. If the draft is submitted to Parliament in its current form, it will pave the way for the imprisonment of LGBTI+ people. The regulation will also affect digital platforms that broadcast series or films featuring LGBTI+ relationships.
The regulations in the draft Judicial Package are almost identical to the anti-LGBTI+ bill draft that KaosGL.org obtained earlier this year.
Prison sentence from one to three years
According to the draft obtained by Ceren Bayar from T24, the 11th Judicial Package draft will amend Article 225 of the Turkish Penal Code, titled “Obscene Acts.” The following paragraph, which paves the way for LGBTI+ people to be sentenced to prison, will be added:
“A person who engages in or publicly encourages, praises, or promotes attitudes and behaviors contrary to the innate biological sex and general morality shall be punished with imprisonment from one to three years.”
Regulations targeting digital platforms
If this regulation comes into effect, it will not only affect LGBTI+ individuals but also digital platforms featuring stories about them.
Article 225 will also include the following provision: “In cases where people of the same sex hold an engagement or wedding ceremony, they shall be sentenced to imprisonment from one year and six months to four years.”
The existing penalty for the offenses of “public sexual intercourse or exhibitionism,” currently ranging from six months to one year, will also be increased to between one and three years.
Justification: To raise healthy generations and protect the family institution
The justification of the article states, “With this regulation, it is aimed to raise physically and mentally healthy individuals and generations, and to protect the family institution and social structure.”
Raising the age and tightening the conditions for ‘gender reassignment surgery’
The draft of the 11th Judicial Package also includes regulations that make “gender reassignment surgery” more difficult. The “age for gender reassignment,” previously 18, has been raised to 25.
The conditions required for gender reassignment surgery are as follows:
- The applicant must be over the age of 25 and unmarried.
- The necessity of gender reassignment for mental health must be documented by an official medical board report from a fully equipped training and research hospital designated by the Ministry of Health.
- This report must be issued after four evaluations conducted at intervals of at least three months each.
- If confirmed by the official medical board report of the designated hospital, the court shall make the necessary correction in the civil registry.
Mandatory medical interventions
The related article also includes the following statement for “mandatory situations”:
“In cases where it is determined by an official medical board report from a fully equipped training and research hospital designated by the Ministry of Health that a person has developmental disorders in the genital organs due to genetic and/or hormonal diseases, mandatory medical interventions for treatment may be carried out without requiring the conditions in this article. However, if, as a result of such medical interventions, it becomes necessary to change the person’s gender in the civil registry, the court shall decide on the necessary correction in the registry.”
Illegal interventions
The article regulating gender reassignment also prescribes penalties for performing “illegal gender reassignment” operations. The draft states: “Anyone who performs any medical intervention to change a person’s gender in violation of the conditions determined by law shall be sentenced to imprisonment from three to seven years and a judicial fine from one thousand to ten thousand days.”
“Necessity must be scientifically demonstrated”
The justifications for the articles related to gender reassignment state: “Although individuals are granted the possibility of gender reassignment, this is not an absolute right that individuals can exercise at will; the necessity of gender reassignment must be scientifically demonstrated.”
“Protecting the family institution, society, and youth is the state’s obligation”
The justification emphasizes that individuals “inclined toward gender reassignment,” as well as young people, the family institution, and society, must be protected, and that it is the state’s constitutional obligation to take all necessary measures in this regard.
Regarding the increase in the age for gender reassignment to 25 and the tightening of the conditions, the justification states:
“Thus, it is ensured that this decision-which will significantly affect the later stages of a person’s life—is made after reaching a certain level of maturity. In addition, it is stipulated that for an individual to apply for permission to change gender, it must be determined by a medical board report that the individual is permanently deprived of reproductive ability. It is envisaged that medical board reports, which form the basis for gender reassignment, will be issued not by all training and research hospitals but only by those designated by the Ministry of Health, following four evaluations at intervals of at least three months. In this way, it is aimed to ensure that individuals wishing to change gender can be observed over a certain period and that the process for irreversible and health-risking gender reassignment interventions can be carried out more safely by promoting specialization in the designated hospitals.”
“Effective fight against degendering movements”
The general justification of the 11th Judicial Package draft also emphasizes the family institution. It states: “In order to protect the family institution, prevent attacks on the general morality and values of society, and effectively combat unification and degendering movements, regulations that strengthen our social structure and protect human dignity are being adopted.”
Tags: insan hakları, medya, nefret suçları, eğitim, barınma, sosyal hizmet, aile, sağlık, siyaset, human rights, family, sağlık hakkı, trans, lgbti, lezbiyen, gey, biseksüel, interseks
