Türkiye to introduce draft law to include new offense on ‘LGBT promotion’

Türkiye’s new judicial reform package will introduce a separate criminal offense for “promoting or encouraging homosexuality” under the penal code, along with a series of new LGBT-related penalties.

This initiative marks the first instance of a legislative move in Türkiye explicitly designed to combat what is described as “homogenization and degenderization trends” in society, local media reported.

The draft law criminalizes “publicly encouraging, praising or promoting behaviors that contradict one’s biological sex in a way deemed contrary to public morality.”

This offense will be punishable by one to three years in prison, though further details on the scope of the penalty are yet to be clarified.

Symbolic ceremonies for same-sex engagement and marriage will also be considered a crime under the new regulations, with penalties ranging from one year and six months to four years in prison. Türkiye does not currently recognize same-sex marriage.

Officials say the new measures are intended to counteract efforts to impose uniformity and gender neutrality, daily Hürriyet reported.

The law is also seen as a response to concerns over content on social media and digital platforms that allegedly promote homosexuality, it said.

The reform also introduces new restrictions on gender reassignment procedures.

Under the regulation, the minimum age for gender transition will be raised from 18 to 21. Medical assessments for gender reassignment will only be conducted at fully equipped training and research hospitals designated by the Health Ministry, requiring four separate evaluations at three-month intervals.

Reports must also confirm that the individual has permanently lost reproductive ability.

Additionally, “illegal gender transition” will become a distinct criminal offense. Doctors who perform gender reassignment procedures outside legal regulations will face prison terms of three to seven years and judicial fines ranging from 1,000 to 10,000 days.

Those who undergo unauthorized procedures will also be sentenced to one to three years in prison. If the procedure is performed on a minor or by an unqualified individual, the penalties will be doubled.