17/02/2026 | Writer: Kaos GL
According to the provisions that were removed from the 11th Judicial Package and are now claimed to be back on the agenda, prison sentences would be introduced for LGBTI+ people, and the minimum age for gender affirming surgeries would be raised to 25.
It has been claimed that the LGBTI+ hostile provisions removed from the 11th Judicial Package in Turkey will be brought back. These provisions, which criminalize LGBTI+ existence, had been removed from the judicial package following strong public backlash.
According to claims by a pro-government newspaper operating in Turkey, amendments are planned to the Civil Code and the Turkish Penal Code. The rationale of the draft prepared by the Ministry of Justice includes expressions such as protecting the family institution, preventing “attacks” on society’s “general morality and values,” and “effectively combating homogenizing and gender-neutralizing movements.”
Under the draft, the minimum age for gender-affirming surgeries would be raised to 25, and individuals would be required to apply to a court to obtain permission for the operation. Those who perform a gender affirming surgery contrary to the law would face prison sentences of three to seven years and judicial fines. If a gender affirming surgery is performed on a child or by an unauthorized person, the penalties would be increased by one-half. Any person who undergoes a medical intervention related to gender affirming surgery in violation of the rules set out in the law would be sentenced to one to three years in prison.
Individuals would also be required to document the necessity of the gender affirming surgery from a mental health perspective with an official medical board report issued by a training and research hospital designated by the Ministry of Health, based on four evaluations conducted at intervals of at least three months.
Additionally, under the draft, a person who engages in attitudes or behaviors contrary to one’s biological sex at birth and to general morality, or who openly encourages, praises, or promotes such behavior, would be punished with one to three years in prison. If people of the same sex hold an engagement or marriage ceremony, they would face prison sentences ranging from one year and six months to four years.
The regulation states that it aims to protect the “family institution” and the “social structure,” using the following language:
“In order to more effectively combat homogenizing and gender-neutralizing movements, acts of adopting attitudes and behaviors contrary to one’s biological sex at birth in a manner contrary to general morality, or openly encouraging, praising, or promoting such acts, are being criminalized. Under the provisions of the Turkish Civil Code, marriage can only take place between a man and a woman. Marriage between persons of the same sex is not legally possible. The regulation introduces the act of holding an engagement or marriage ceremony between persons of the same sex as a de facto crime. In such cases, each of the same-sex individuals who are parties to the engagement or marriage ceremony will be punished separately. The regulation aims to ensure the upbringing of physically and mentally healthy individuals and generations, and to protect the family institution and the social structure.”
Tags: human rights, women, media, family, health, trans, lgbti
