Two days ago, Gökçe Saygı, a trans woman was murdered at her home in Antalya. Saygı’s loss added to the loss of many other trans women, all victims of transphobia and the impunity against hate killings.

LGBTI+ and women’s associations launched a hashtag campaign on May 14, repeating their demand for the outlawing of hate crimes in the Penal Code. The civil society organisations have been campaigning for a law against hate crimes for years, emphasizing how discrimination against LGBTI+ individuals results in impunity against violence, with sentence reductions on the premises of “provocation”. The activists have been repeatedly demanding public awareness for the killings, stating “Trans murders are political!”.

Turkey has ranked 48th among 49 countries in ILGA Europe’s annual review of LGBTI+ rights, which underlines that the country has currently no law defines and targets hate speech or hate crime. The report also suggests that at least 4 trans women were murdered and many were attacked on 2018.

The hashtag for the campaign #Yasaİstiyoruz means #WeWantALaw [against the hate crimes].  Members of Antalya-based LGBTI+ organisation BİZ Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Association has called for a gathering today [May 15, 2019] at 19:00 to commemorate Gökçe Saygı and to read their press statement. The association has also stated that they will be following the trial.