The Current Situation and Issues of Transgender Prisoners in Turkey

The experiences of LGBTi members in prison in Turkey have been brought into the spotlight by many NGOs; yet, the rights of the LGBTi members in the prisons continue to be violated. Based on the reports of NGOs, access to justice, isolation, mistreatment, health problems, financial problems and discrimination are the main issues experienced by LGBTi prisoners. In addition, there is no effective policy towards the reintegration of LGBTi prisoners into society, which is supposed to be the main purpose of rehabilitation. All of these issues are compounded for trans people in prison, who experience additional hardships and rights violations. This chapter reviews a wide range of available reports, news and data on trans individuals to provide insight into the current situation of transgender prisoners in Turkish prisons and the issues they face. In particular, it calls attention to the condition of isolation that trans prisoners experience and its extensive negative impacts on their security, health and well-being. It ends with a set of recommendations advocating for future research and policy changes.