Eylül Cansın

Psychological, legal, and social support for Trans Guesthouse

Istanbul LGBTT is launching the Eylül Cansın Transhouse Project to provide psychological, legal, and social support for the residents of the Trans Guesthouse. [To contribute to the Trans Guesthouse, please contact the Istanbul LGBTT Solidarity Association.]

Source: Yıldız Tar, “Trans Misafirhanesi’ne psikolojik, hukuki ve sosyal destek sağlanacak” (“Psychological, legal, and social support for trans guesthouse”), KaosGL, 26 May 2015, http://kaosgl.org/sayfa.php?id=19500

Istanbul LGBTT Solidarity Association is launching the Eylül Cansın Transhouse Project to address the psychological, legal, and social support needs of the Trans Guesthouse. Supported by the Netherlands, the project will provide vocational training programs as well as psychological support for trans residents on a regular basis.

The residents of both the Çingene Gül Guesthouse, which was initiated some years ago by Istanbul LGBTI, and of the Eylül Cansın Guesthouse, which is being developed through Trans Angels’ support, will now be able to receive legal counselling, attend accessory design workshops, and produce and sell handmade accessories.

All proceeds from the accessory design workshop will go to the guesthouse

In our conversation about the Association’s new project, Deniz Tunç noted that the Eylül Cansın Transhouse Project will greatly contribute to the institutionalization of the guesthouse. Tunç remarked that so far the guesthouse has survived through solidarity:

“Till now, the basic needs of the guesthouse were being met by the visitors. This project will enable the trans women who reside here to have their basic needs met. The end results of the accessory design workshop will be displayed for sale on 20 November, the Transgender Day of Remembrance; as part of the week’s activities, we will hold a charity sale and exhibition for the accessories. All proceeds will go to the guesthouse.”

Yearlong psychological counseling

Tunç noted that group therapy and one-on-one counseling will be made available to trans residents: “Trans people are discriminated against in every domain of life. The trans people who come to the guesthouse are usually people who have been excluded from social life and who experience extreme isolation. Many trans women don’t even want to go outside. They have been getting counseling from volunteer psychologists, but we’ll systematize that service.”

Legal support for LGBTI war victims

The project includes services for LGBTI refugees as well. Istanbul LGBTI will provide legal support for LGBTI war victims’ applications to the UN. Legal support will not be limited to refugees. The new transhouse website will provide both online and face-to-face consultancy to trans residents.

The utilities of the guesthouse are being paid through the proceeds of the fashion show held by Trans Angels on 20 November 2014 and other charity events. However, the guesthouse needs contributions.

To contribute to the Trans Guesthouse, please contact the Istanbul LGBTI Solidarity Association.

Eylül Cansın’s mother speaks of her daughter’s suicide, discrimination, and trans gangs

The mother of Eylül Cansın- a trans woman who committed suicide- told the story of her daughter’s 23 years, from her childhood to her death.

Source: Michelle Demishevic, “’Kadıköy trans çetesi kızım Eylül Cansın’ı pazarladı, uyuşturucuya zorladı, işkence yaptı!”, (“The Kadıköy trans gang sold my daughter Eylül Cansın, forced her to do drugs, tortured her!”), T24, 19 January 2015, http://t24.com.tr/haber/kadikoy-trans-cetesi-kizim-eylul-cansini-pazarladi-uyusturucuya-zorladi-iskence-yapti,284174

23-year-old trans woman Eylül Cansın jumped off of the Bosphorus Bridge on January 4, 2015 at around 03:30 a.m. As her deceased body was found near the Ortaköy shore,  the video she had recorded before jumping off circulated on social media after being published on T24. “Today is my best day. I am very happy but today will be another better day for me. Thank you all,” she said at the beginning of her video continuing:

“I couldn’t because people didn’t let me. I couldn’t work, I wanted to do things but I couldn’t. You get me? They impeded with me many times; they made me suffer a lot. I leave everyone alone with God and now I’m going to the Bosphorus Bridge.”

In spite of Cansın saying so in her video, her mother says that this is not a suicide. Cansın’s mother, Mrs. Bala, to whom Cansın calls out to in the video saying,  “Mom, all I want is, I have a little dog at home, I leave him to you. He never pees, never poops at home. Always say to him ‘he is my child’, never get angry with him,” asks this question:

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Mehtap Cansın, Suicide or “I could not do it!”

Source: Derviş A. Akkoç, “Mehtap Cansın, İntihar ya da “Yapamadım!” (“Mehtap Cansın, Suicide or “I could not do it!”” )Birikimdergisi.com, 07 January 2015, http://www.birikimdergisi.com/guncel/mehtap-cansin-intihar-ya-da-yapamadim

Trans woman Mehtap [Eylül] Cansın committed suicide by jumping off the Bosphorus Bridge on January 5, 2015. Death has become so ordinary in this society that I have no doubt this suicide will be brushed aside like the other suicides. It will be completely forgotten since the person who is dead is not one of “us” due to her sexual preference. I do not know if I should either say “what a pity!” or “such a shame!” Mehtap Cansın was only 24 years old. She recorded a video right before she committed suicide. At her last moment and with her last breath she voiced her complaint, trying to explain her situation one last time and to reach out to others:

I’m sending kisses to all of you. Today is the best of my days, I am very happy. But today will be another beautiful day for me. I thank everyone. I love everyone. Many were my friends, but apparently not. I leave everyone to their conscience, I can’t do this anymore. This is what I figured out. I do the things everyone wants, the way they would like it. I kiss all of you. 2015! I was born in 1992. I should be 24 right now, but I am ending my age at 24 instead. I kiss everyone. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t do it, because people did not let me. I could not work. I wanted to do things, I couldn’t do them. Do you understand? They constantly stood in my way. They victimized me. I leave everyone to God. And right now I am going towards Bosphorus Bridge. You will hear my name on the pages of the newspapers tomorrow, it can be on the 3rd or 4th or maybe on the 1st page. I kiss all of you, may God protect you. May God protect you…

Most probably newspapers will have bigger and more important agendas tomorrow, Mehtap Cansın’s name will probably not be mentioned on the first page, but on the later pages. She knows it too: “it can be on the 3rd or 4th.” Worse is that her name may not be there at all.  People will think, “What was she worth when she was alive? What does it matter when she is dead?” If the act of suicide means the subject pronounces herself through death,  opening the existence itself to the world through death one last time, then it is that life that causes death that needs to be questioned, not the death itself. There is no doubt that this life was a living hell for Cansın. No wonder she repeats “I couldn’t do it” so many times: “I wanted to do things, I couldn’t do it, they stood in my way.” And right after she adds: “Do you understand?” Do we understand what? “Can’t do it” anymore, getting stuck at a certain point, to be held back, to have her life and soul devoured. Is it these things we are to understand? These are all results. A life depreciated, meanings and values scattered, the limit of “living another day just to spite the enemy” far passed. These are all results too.

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“The deaths of trans people driven to suicide by society are hate crimes”

Source: Michelle Demishevich, ‘Toplumun intihara sürüklediği trans bireylerin ölümleri nefret cinayetidir’ (The deaths of trans people driven to suicide by society are hate crimes.) T24, 6 January 2015, http://t24.com.tr/haber/toplumun-intihara-surukledigi-trans-bireylerin-olumleri-nefret-cinayetidir,282879

Eylül Cansın, who committed suicide by jumping off the Istanbul Boğaziçi Bridge, drew attention to increasing transphobic sentiment and violence.

LGBTI organizations held simultaneous protests in Istanbul and Ankara after the death of Eylül Cansın, a 23 year old who committed suicide by jumping off the Istanbul Boğaziçi Bridge.

During the rally in Istanbul’s Beyoğlu district, LGBTI activists marched from Tünel to Galatasaray Square with a banner reading “You can’t extort or exert violence on trans sex workers.” holding up placards and shouting out slogans.

Pink Life LGBTI, Istanbul LGBTT, Kaos GL, Black Pink Triangle LGBTI, Freedom to Earth Association, Protection and Development of Animal Rights Association, Pink Caretta LGBTQ, Kars Platform Against Homophobia and Transpohobia, Malatya Youth Initiative Against Homophobia and Transpohobia, Hevi LGBTI, Socialist Salvation Party (SYKP) and Revolutionary Highschoolers attended the event in Ankara’s Yüksel Street that took place at the same time.

The group, marching against transphobia despite ill weather, gave a press conference in Galatasaray Square. The strict security measures taken by Istanbul Riot Police and the presence of a TOMA, an intervention vehicle for social events, stood out. LGBTQ activist Yağmur Beyrut read the press release on behalf of the group.

Yağmur Beyrut, who raised concerns about the growing violence against trans women nowadays, said: “The sex trade, which often stands as the only option for trans women, does not provide safer working conditions than 19th century coal mines did. Sex workers are forced, day by day, to work under less job security, all-the-while facing greater risk of occupational violence and homicide. They face increasing rivalry and prevalent employment problems due to the reduction of spaces allocated to them and the growing pressures put on them.”

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Turkish Psychologists Association: LGBTI suicides are always a social phenomenon

LGBTI suicides are always a social phenomenon because an LGBTI individual is directly or indirectly exposed to cultural, legal, physical and social discrimination and violence throughout her/his entire life. 

Source: Turkish Psychologists Association, “LGBTİ intiharları her zaman toplumsal bir olgudur”, (“LGBTI suicides are always a social phenomenon”), TPD, 06 January 2015, http://www.psikolog.org.tr/index.php?Detail=1201

We are deeply sorry for the suicide of the trans-individual Eylül Cansın.

We give our condolences to her relatives, friends and LGBTI Movement.

LGBTI suicides are always a social phenomenon

LGBTI suicides are always a social phenomenon because an LGBTI individual is directly or indirectly exposed to cultural, legal, physical and social discrimination and violence throughout her/his entire life.

The hopelessness and desperation of an LGBTI individual is linked to the discrimination and the violence she/he Is exposed to

The hopelessness and desperation that an LGBTI individual has to face, which sometimes results in depression in clinical levels, is the consequence of the discrimination and violence that she/he is exposed to. The available research points out that being exposed to discrimination and to violation of rights and being excluded from one’s family [and support networks] lead to health impairments such as depression, anxiety disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. It also raises the risk of tendency to suicidal thoughts, weakens the immune system and delays recovery. It is our responsibility to act in solidarity with LGBTI individuals in the context of cultural, legal, physical and social discrimination and violence, and to take a stand against homophobic and transphobic attitude and acts of society.

The responsibility of the media: The media must avoid broadcasts that may encourage suicide

In this context, the media shoulders an important responsibility. First of all, we want to repeat the previous warning: suicides, especially in the form of Eylül Cansın’s which occurred on 4 January 2015, have to be treated very carefully by the media, since they can pave the way for other suicides. This is a critical issue.

It is crucial not to share and broadcast the video with the suicide note in order to prevent it from becoming widespread. A detailed description of the suicide process may trigger and can become a role model, especially for adolescents, young adults, and people who are inclined to depression and suicide. It also raises the possibility of imitation. Many studies underline this possibility. For this reason, any type of suicidal incident should not be broadcast as the headline or as breaking news and it should be broadcasted without visuals and without dramatizing the incident. In news broadcasts, detailed depictions of the method of suicide must be avoided and media outlets must not broadcast the aftermath of the suicide.

Legal, psychological and social support available to LGBTI individuals must be emphasized

The support and treatment possibilities for the depression, which underlies the behavior of suicide, as well as the effectiveness of these possibilities on saving lives must be emphasized. Wide publicity must be given to the legal, psychological and social tools that LGBTI individuals can use. This publicity must also provide information on the organizations which they can join and the psychosocial support projects that they can benefit. The contact information of these organizations and foundations must be generalized.

As the TPD [Turkish Psychologists Association] LGBTI Studies Unit, we call on the media establishments to publicize the violence and discrimination LGBTI individuals face in every fields of their life and to act in solidarity with the LGBTI political movement.

 

Having suicidal thoughts? Please, please stop long enough to read this. It will only take about five minutes: http://www.metanoia.org/suicide/

To the best of our knowledge, the online and IRL resources below will provide you with a safe and non-judgmental space.

IRC / Chatlines

Hotlines

Sexual Assault Resources

If you know of any other suicide resources where you live or work, please do let us know so that we can add them to our website. To contact us, email us at , or see https://lgbtinewsturkey.com/about/.

https://lgbtinewsturkey.com/2015/03/04/suicide-resources/

 

Gani Met on Trans Deaths: “This Piece is a Denunciation for Humanity”

Source: Gani Met,  “Bu Yazı İnsanlığa Suç Duyurusudur”, (“This Piece is a Denunciation for Humanity”), 5harfliler.com, 5 January 2015, http://www.5harfliler.com/bu-yazi-insanliga-suc-duyurusudur/

Here I am releasing a denunciation to all of humanity, over and over again: You are destroying us each day. You are massacring us systematically and politically. See this! Hear this!

I don’t understand how I was able to manage this situation in the past. Not a day goes by without someone dying, someone being kicked out of their house, someone in need of care at some hospital…These pieces of news make me so sad now. My resistance decreases. I don’t know how I would be able to survive if it weren’t for the well-intentioned people around me. What kind of an arena is this where if you fall, you are shattered? What is the struggle behind this hopelessness? Why? I don’t know…

The psychology of war that we are made to experience is always with me. There are dead bodies everywhere. I used to know that one. I used to love that one. That other one was a nice girl. The latter was my friend. There are dead bodies everywhere or bad memories. I don’t know who the enemy is anymore.

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Trans woman ends her life in Istanbul: I couldn’t, they didn’t let me

Source: “Trans woman ends her life in Istanbul: I couldn’t, they didn’t let me”, kaosGL.org, 5 January 2015, http://kaosgl.org/page.php?id=18392

A trans woman named Eylül Cansın committed suicide in Istanbul by jumping off the Bosphorus Bridge the night before.

 

Born in 1992, Eylül Cansın ended her life by jumping off the Bosphorus Bridge on Saturday night. Cansın left a video as a suicide note, saying “many people were my friends but they turned out not to be my friends. I couldn’t do it anymore, that’s what I’ve learned. I’m doing the thing everyone wants [me to do].”

“I couldn’t because people did not let me”

“I was born in 1992. Now I must be 24 and I’m ending my 24 years. Kisses to everyone. I couldn’t. I couldn’t because people did not let me. I couldn’t work, I wanted to do stuff, I couldn’t… You get me? They impeded with me many times; they made me suffer a lot. I leave everyone alone with God and now I’m going to the Bosphorus Bridge. Kisses to all, God bless you.”

Cansın wanted her mother to take care of her little dog at her place, resulting in a huge despair in social media by her words: “Whenever you look at it, remember only me and don’t give it to anyone else. When you see it, say ‘this is my child’. Don’t get angry at it.”

Suicide of LGBT people is a social issue

In July, a trans boy named Okyanus Efe Ozyavuz in Izmir; in August a trans activist named Figen in Mersin and in November an Iranian gay refugee in Denizli ended their lives. Experts underline that discrimination causes serious mental health problems.

 

 

Having suicidal thoughts? Please, please stop long enough to read this. It will only take about five minutes: http://www.metanoia.org/suicide/

To the best of our knowledge, the online and IRL resources below will provide you with a safe and non-judgmental space.

IRC / Chatlines

Hotlines

Sexual Assault Resources

If you know of any other suicide resources where you live or work, please do let us know so that we can add them to our website. To contact us, email us at , or see https://lgbtinewsturkey.com/about/.

https://lgbtinewsturkey.com/2015/03/04/suicide-resources/

 

ODA TV: “Another trans has died”

A trans woman who climbed on the railings of the Bosphorus Bridge has jumped to her death despite efforts by the police.

Source: “Bir trans daha öldü” (“Another trans has died”). Oda TV, 5 January 2015, http://odatv.com/n.php?n=bir-trans-daha-oldu-0501151200

Police began efforts to talk down Eylül Cansın, a 22 year old trans individual who wanted to let herself go off of the bridge. A boat belonging to the maritime police was also mobilized to take safety precautions in the area. Cansın, who could not be convinced by the police officers, soon let herself go off of the bridge and was pronounced dead at the scene.

She shared her last message on Facebook

Cansın shared a video on Facebook hours before her suicide:

“I could not. I could not because people did not allow me. I could not work. I wanted to do something [worthwhile] but I could not. They interfered with me a lot. They victimized me a lot. I leave everyone to their own god.”

A message for her mother

Cansın left a message specifically to her mother and, crying, said,

“Mom, I have a very small dog at home. I know that you will take her in and that you will take good care of her. Mom, I entrust her to you. Please think of me whenever you look at her. Think of only me. And don’t give her away to any one.”

 

 

Having suicidal thoughts? Please, please stop long enough to read this. It will only take about five minutes: http://www.metanoia.org/suicide/

To the best of our knowledge, the online and IRL resources below will provide you with a safe and non-judgmental space.

IRC / Chatlines

Hotlines

Sexual Assault Resources

If you know of any other suicide resources where you live or work, please do let us know so that we can add them to our website. To contact us, email us at , or see https://lgbtinewsturkey.com/about/.

https://lgbtinewsturkey.com/2015/03/04/suicide-resources/