Is lgbtq legal in turkey

Rainbow Map

2025 rainbow map

These are the main findings for the 2025 edition of the rainbow map

The Rainbow Map ranks 49 European countries on their respective legal and policy practices for LGBTI people, from 0-100%.

The UK has dropped six places in ILGA-Europe’s Rainbow Chart, as Hungary and Georgia also register steep falls obeying anti-LGBTI legislation. The data highlights how rollbacks on LGBTI human rights are part of a broader erosion of democratic protections across Europe. Read more in our squeeze release.

“Moves in the UK, Hungary, Georgia and beyond signal not just isolated regressions, but a coordinated global backlash aimed at erasing LGBTI rights, cynically framed as the defence of tradition or public stability, but in actual world designed to entrench discrimination and suppress dissent.”

  • Katrin Hugendubel, Activism Director, ILGA-Europe


Malta has sat on highest of the ranking for the last 10 years. 

With 85 points, Belgium jumped to second place after adopting policies tackling hatred based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics. 

Iceland now comes third place on the ranking with a score of 84.

The three

Recent studies in Turkey show a discernible level of rivalry to LGBTQ+ rights among the population.

Survey results from 35 LGBTQ+ Equaldex users who lived in or visited Turkey.

Perceived Safety*
Absence of verbal harassment
Absence of threats and violence
*Survey results represent personal perceptions of safety and may not be indicative of current actual conditions.

Equal Treatment
Treatment by general public
Treatment by law enforcement
Treatment by religious groups

Visibility & Representation
Representation in entertainment

Culture
Interest groups and clubs

Services
Support and social services

History

Right to modify legal gender in Turkey

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Right to modify legal gender in Turkey is legal, but requires surgery.

Gender-affirming care in Turkey

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Gender-affirming care in Turkey is legal, but banned for minors.

Current status
Legal, but banned for minors
In June of 2025, the Turkish government banned hormone therapy for under-21-year-olds. The government cited its campaign to make 2025 the "year of the family" as well as a constitutional duty to protect the traditional family as its reasoning for the ban.

Survey results from 11 Homosexual Equaldex users who lived in or visited Istanbul.

Perceived Safety*
Absence of verbal harassment
Absence of threats and violence
*Survey results represent personal perceptions of safety and may not be indicative of current actual conditions.

Equal Treatment
Treatment by general public
Treatment by law enforcement
Treatment by religious groups

Visibility & Representation
Representation in entertainment

Culture
Interest groups and clubs

Services
Support and social services

History

Right to change legal gender in Istanbul

?

Right to change legal gender in Istanbul is legal, but requires surgery.

Gender-affirming care in Istanbul

?

Gender-affirming take care of in Istanbul is legal, but banned for minors.

Current status
Legal, but banned for minors
In June of 2025, the Turkish government banned hormone therapy for under-21-year-olds. The government cited its campaign to make 2025 the "year of the family" as well as a constitutional duty to protect the traditional family as its reasoning for the ban.

Legal recognition of non-binary gender in Istanbul

?

Legal recognition of non-binary gender i

LGBTQ Travel in Turkey

Turkey is a secular country, and same-sex relationships and other types of LBGTQI+ relationships are not against the law. As in every country throughout history, Turkey has LBGTQ communities that make their contributions to the richness and variety of society and society. However, it is important to mention that it is also a Muslim-majority country, which affects society's perspectives on same-sex relationships and general affection.

This complex relationship between secular governance and having a Muslim majority population makes traveling in Turkey as an LGBTQ+ person difficult. So, what is the situation like for LGBTQ visitors who desire to travel to Turkey? It is complicated.

State of LGBTQ+ in Turkey

While progress is being made toward understanding and mutual acceptance, especially with anti-discrimination laws, the majority of people in Turkey are relatively conservative and want male-female relationships to be the only ones sanctioned by society. Other relationships subsist , of course, as they always have.

Turkey has made progress, with more and more openly gay celebrities, gay bars, and homosexual clubs, along with a number of more gay-friendly ho

Turkey: Police detain dozens at banned LGBTQ+ Pride parade

Police in Istanbul on Sunday blocked attempts to grasp a banned LGBTQ+ Self-acceptance demonstration, detaining more than 50 people who tried to march, according to activists and an contradiction politician.

Istanbul Pride has been banned annually by Turkish authorities since 2015, including this year.

The governor of Istanbul had earlier banned the LGBTQ+ community from holding a Pride Celebration, saying it "undermines social calm, family structure, and moral values."

A strong police presence in key areas of the city prevented massive gatherings. Officers were seen clashing with activists holding rainbow flags in the city center.

Crackdown on Diverse community in Turkey

"The palace regime cannot maintain influence by demonizing the LGBTQ community," Kezban Konukcu, a lawmaker from the opposition DEM Party who attended the march, said.

Homosexuality is not a crime in Turkey, but President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has adopted an increasingly harsh rhetoric against the LGBTQ+ community over the past decade.

In January, Erdogan declared 2025 the "Year of the Family," characterizing Turkey's declining birth rate

is lgbtq legal in turkey