14/05/2026 | Writer: Kaos GL
At the LGBTI+ Rights Symposium organized by Kaos GL Association in Ankara, participants spent two days discussing political violence, peace, the right to health, hormone policies, censorship, and the “Year of the Family” agenda, while LGBTI+ people, feminists, and human rights defenders came together in solidarity.
Reviving its symposium tradition previously held under titles such as “Problems of Lesbians and Gays and the Search for Peace for a Social Solution”, “Anti-Homophobia Meeting”, “Feminist Forum” and “Anti-Discrimination Symposium”, Kaos GL Association organized the “LGBTI+ Rights Symposium” in Ankara on May 9-10 this year. Bringing together hundreds of participants, the symposium created a common ground for discussing the current agenda of the LGBTI+ movement.
Over the course of two days, discussions covered a wide range of topics, from political violence and peace to the right to healthcare and hormone access, as well as censorship in media, culture and arts. At the Rainbow Forum organized as part of the symposium, participants discussed the “Year of the Family” policies targeting LGBTI+ people, sharing their experiences and methods of resistance against escalating repression, bans, and rights violations.
Held for the first time under the title “LGBTI+ Rights Symposium,” the gathering was dedicated to the memory of LGBTI+ activist, trade unionist, and writer Kürşad Kahramanoğlu, who passed away in 2018. Kaos GL Association aims to organize the symposium every May as part of the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Transphobia, and Interphobia on May 17.
“LGBTI+ people are the nation’s first pariahs”
On the first day of the symposium, representatives from the Turkish Medical Association, Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, and The School of Human Rights opened the event by saluting the LGBTI+ struggle.
The first panel, titled “Political Violence,” focused on nationalism, legislative violence, and anti-LGBTI+ hostility. Speaking on behalf of the School of Human Rights, Elçin Aktoprak said, “LGBTI+ people are the nation’s first pariahs.” Academic Işıl Kurnaz drew attention to draft laws targeting LGBTI+ people, stating, “Legal regulations are declaring scapegoats.” Journalist Yıldız Tar argued that anti-LGBTI+ hostility has become one of the government’s tools for manufacturing consent, adding, “When it comes to LGBTI+ people, we are confronted with a kind of imagination of annihilation.”
“LGBTI+ people have become the primary targets of political violence”
In the second session on “Political Violence,” Ruşen Seydaoğlu from the TJA and Labour Party MP Sevda Karaca spoke.
Seydaoğlu said, “Kurds, LGBTI+ people, Alevis, every group that has been marginalized has demands,” emphasizing that the peace process must become “a table for all peoples.” Karaca stated that the regime had deepened political violence after 2015, saying, “We need to draw stronger connections between violence against LGBTI+ people and the imprisonment of journalists.” She also added, “LGBTI+ people have become the primary object of social polarization and the primary targets of political violence.”
“Wars impoverish women and LGBTI+ people”
The third session, titled “Peace,” featured Academic for Peace and member of the Women Need Peace Initiative Yasemin Özgün alongside Selman from Bil+.
Özgün stressed that women and LGBTI+ people are targeted under conditions of war, stating, “As long as impunity continues, violence against women, trans people, and LGBTI+ people will continue.” Describing solidarity between women and LGBTI+ people as “grace”, she called for strengthening the struggle for peace together.
Selman underlined that the LGBTI+ movement has been anti-militarist from the very beginning, saying, “Wars impoverish women and LGBTI+ people,” while also emphasizing the importance of democratic integration for Kurds and LGBTI+ people alike.
“Aren’t trans people part of this society?”
The fourth session, titled “The Right to Health and Hormones”, addressed heterosexist approaches in medicine, barriers to hormone access, and bodily autonomy for trans people.
Selçuk Candansayar, President of the Turkish Psychiatric Association, said, “Medicine has ceased to be a tool that enables people to freely live their sexuality.” Lawyer İdil Arslanbaş drew attention to anti-LGBTI+ judicial reform packages, asking, “Who are they protecting society and the family from? Aren’t trans people part of this society?” Trans activist Janset Kalan stated, “We live in a system where we have no autonomy over our own bodies,” emphasizing that anti-trans hostility is being organized and expanded on a global scale.
“Representation is a construction”
The fifth session, “Censorship in Media and Culture-Arts,” focused on LGBTI+ journalism, censorship in arts and culture, and anti-gender discourse.
Journalist Tuğçe Yılmaz said, “When you have a feminist ear, you can recognize rights violations much more clearly within that noise.” Art critic Can Memiş criticized the silence of institutions in the face of anti-LGBTI+ policies, saying, “The field of arts and culture is also sustained through the labor of lubunyas.” DEM Party MP Sevilay Çelenk emphasized how anti-LGBTI+ disinformation is reproduced in media and cultural spaces, stating, “Representation is a construction.”
The symposium concluded with the session titled “Year of the Family Policies and the Rainbow Forum”. During the forum, participants called for collective struggle and solidarity against repression, bans, and politics of hate.
Tags: human rights, women, media, arts and culture, life, labour, family, lgbti
