türkiye’den şiddet hikayeleri

I was forced to resign from teaching because of my gender identity

“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, “Cinsiyet kimliğim yüzünden öğretmenlikten istifa ettirildim”, (“I was forced to resign from teaching because of my gender identity”,) Türkiye’den Şiddet Hikayeleri,  22 December 2012, http://www.siddethikayeleri.com/cinsiyet-kimligim-yuzunden-ogretmenlikten-istifa-ettirildim/

Trans activist and sex worker Sinem Kuzucan had to resign from her teaching job because of pressure due to her gender identity. Kuzucan talked to “Violence Stories from Turkey” about the existence of trans people in the public, the Misdemeanor Law and the Turkish National Police’s performance system that limits the living space of sex workers.

How did you first encounter the concept of violence? Were you ever subjected to violence before realizing your gender identity?

The most severe violence in the life of a trans person is evil stares. I mean the stares like “What is it, who is it?” When a child realizes that something is different about himself or herself, he or she does not really understand “identity”. I had the same experience. You do not really know who you will resemble, who you will become- your mother or father. Even though you have not figured it out, your family, kids on the street, friends from school see your difference. “Sissy Ali, Sissy Murat” are the nicknames. In fact, you figure what is going on when you hear these names. This is where the violence starts. This broadening discrimination excludes you from your family, from education, from employment. You cannot find any place in life.

What kind of trauma does this pressure and social discrimination create?

The social violence a trans person is exposed to in her early life affects her whole life. Your access to education is prevented because of discrimination from schoolmates. You are deprived of family support, as well. They say things like “what will others say, why do you behave like this, do not trot like a girl” and when this turns into physical violence, you have to leave home. You don’t have a school after leaving home. Without the two, you are hardly employable. The violence and discrimination you are subjected to at this point in your life changes your whole life. I lived through this; if I had suppressed my identity, I would have a so-called “normal” life.

We are taught by society that there is either man or woman. In my teaching job, even though I am a trans person, I was forced to tell the same story about the nuclear family to my students.  This is how it was taught to us as well. Egalitarian legal regulations are important for transforming these discriminative attitudes. If this society is in its current situation due to monotypic laws and regulations, then it can be transformed through new regulations. We should start with the law. When it comes to trans murders, they reduced penalties on the pretext of provocation for years. In the past, trans murderers would be sentenced to two years or they would not be punished at all. Now at least they are sentenced to fifteen years. As laws become more egalitarian, society will have to adapt with time. Temporal periods are never easy.

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Not even one transsexual person that I know died of natural causes

“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: Cankız Çevik, “Tanıdığım transseksüellerden biri bile eceliyle ölmedi,” (“Not even one transsexual person that I know died of natural causes,”) Türkiye’den Şiddet Hikayeleri, 30 July 2013, http://www.siddethikayeleri.com/tanidigim-transseksuellerden-biri-bile-eceliyle-olmedi/

Trans woman and sex worker Dora Özer was stabbed to death at her home in Kuşadası on July 9, 2013. About 20 days later, another hate killing took place in İstanbul: a trans woman named Gaye was murdered also at her own home. Even after these series of deaths, hate crimes are still not on the government’s agenda. Demet Yanardağ from the Black Pink Triangle İzmir Association talked to “Violence Stories From Turkey” about Dora, about trans murders that are “ordinary” in the eyes of the media and the public, and about the justice system that absolves these murders by maintaining their silence.

I met Dora 6 or 7 years ago, when I first came to İzmir from Çanakkale. At that point the circumstances in İzmir were horrible because Hüseyin Çapkın was the commissioner. Hüseyin Çapkın was someone who believed that he was restoring order by oppressing people just like Hortum Süleyman who tormented people in Beyoğlu a while ago.

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If you are a homosexual in prison, there is both punishment and beating

“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: Cankız Çevik, “Cezaevinde eşcinselsen ceza da var, dayak da,” (“If you are a homosexual in prison, there is both punishment and beating,”) Türkiye’den Şiddet Hikayeleri, 12 December 2012, http://www.siddethikayeleri.com/cezaevinde-escinselsen-ceza-da-var-dayak-da/

Suzi, who was discriminated against and bullied because of his sexual orientation during his 12 years in prison, could not get a job because of his record. Suzi talks about discrimination in the prisons and his fight for equality:

You can call me Suzi.  I was in prison for 12 years and got out approximately 2 and a half months ago. My crime was fraud. At that time my business went bankrupt and I, unwillingly, used fraud. I committed a crime and I deserved to go to prison. It was a lesson to me. And of course I lost everything I had during this time.

Where were you living before you went to prison?

I was in Ankara before that too. My business was here. But when I went to prison, everything  fell apart. My mother passed away, my wife and I divorced, I have nobody.  Two of my kids are here, the other one is in France. I am trying to start over but the state does not help at all. I had nowhere to go for 2 months, I went wherever they told me to. I am trying to find a job but nobody trusts me because of my shameful crime. Making a mistake in the past does not mean that I am going to do it again in my new job. If I thought that I would, I would not bother applying to jobs properly. I want to stay away from all of this, fit into society and I want to do something good for the people as long as my strength and age allows me to. But it never happens. Never. I went to all the state departments, I even went to the Presidential Palace today. It was around 4 PM, the police at the door said, “You are late. You cannot find any officials who can help you.” I explained my situation but he said, “You came here for nothing, if the Prime Minister cannot help you, what can these people do for you?”  I am stuck. I have been staying with a transsexual friend for 10-15 days, she opened her house to me.

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Together We Will Beat Homophobia in Sports

“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, “Sporda Homofobiyi Beraber Yeneceğiz,” (Together We Will Beat Homophobia in Sports,”) Türkiye’den Şiddet Hikayeleri, 5 May 2013, http://www.siddethikayeleri.com/sporda-homofobiyi-birlikte-yenecegiz/

Halil İbrahim Dinçdağ, exempt from military service because of his homosexuality, could not continue his job as a referee due to one item on the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) Directive, which states: “People exempt from military service because of medical problems cannot work as referees.”

I played football for 10 years, I was a referee for 14 years, and I hosted radio and television shows for years. The events that put me in the public eye and prevented me from working as a referee started with the mandatory military service. Ever since I was a child, I always had question marks about the military service. I questioned why such a practice exists, why all these young people are forced to wear those uniforms and waste their times. People are taken for the service at an age when they decide what to do with their lives and all their dreams are shattered. In brief, I would not have served in the military even if I were heterosexual.

How did you experience the process of mandatory military service?

I was living in Trabzon, I was not running away but I had not taken any steps regarding the military service. The trouble started in 2007 when I received a document stating that I have to report to service. I started searching for ways to get a report that states that I am ineligible for military service. I went to the recruitment office, got examined, and told the doctor that my sexual orientation was different. I was sent to Erzincan Military Hospital but the doctors there said: “We cannot give you a report. You have to go to service and get examined in the hospital of your platoon.” Approximately one year later, in October 2008, I decided to go to the military service.

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