hate crimes in ankara

If you are a trans individual, I learned that it is useless for you to complain

“Violence Stories from Turkey” is a project by Intercultural Research Association that aims to archive and document the phenomenon of violence in Turkey; to prevent events of violence and their victims from “becoming ordinary” and “turning into statistics”; to investigate the conditions of violence in order to make future projections; and to bring together NGOs, civil society, and advocates for the defense of victims’ rights. The project publishes photographs and interviews with victims or witnesses in a simple and flexible format that allows the interviewees to express themselves.

Source: Doğu Eroğlu, “Trans bireysen şikayetçi olmak gereksizmiş, öğrendim,” (“If you are a trans individual, I learned that it is useless for you to complain,”) Türkiye’den Şiddet Hikayeleri,  12 December 2012, http://www.siddethikayeleri.com/trans-bireysen-sikayetci-olmak-gereksizmis-ogrendim/

Trans sex worker Görkem went to the police repeatedly concerning the violence she is subjected to while she is working. Each time, she was either forced to make peace with the people she was filing complaints against because of their threats or her complaints were not even taken into consideration. Görkem talked to “Violence Stories From Turkey” about the insensitivities of the police and the judicial institutions as well as the unsafe environment that sex workers live in.

I am a sex worker because I have to work. I work especially on side streets. I do not really think I am worth this little but I have to do it. I am subjected to violence when I am working as a sex worker. This past July, I got into a car and made a deal. We went to his place. He did not pay the price I wanted, we argued. I slammed the door and got out. Because my outfit was revealing, two drunk people who were passing by said: “Come, stay with us.” I sensed they were going to do something nasty. Whether I stayed or not, something bad was going to happen to me. So I sprayed their eyes and got into a cab immediately. I had also been drinking during that time. Somehow the cab turned round and round and took me back to the people I was running away from.

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