By Kyriaki Papagiatzoglou

The recent arrests and raids targeting LGBTQI+ people and community spaces in Turkey are more than another disturbing headline. They point to a reality in which fear, stigma and insecurity are increasingly becoming part of everyday life for people simply because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Sixteen people have been remanded in custody in Izmir following operations by Turkish authorities targeting individuals, organisations and venues associated with the LGBTQI+ community. The raids are part of a broader operation conducted under the banner “My Family is Safe”, with investigations extending across several provinces.

Behind the numbers and the arrests, however, lies a much broader question: what does it mean to live in a society where your identity can make you feel constantly at risk?

From rhetoric to fear

Homosexuality is not illegal in Turkey. But the absence of criminalisation does not, in itself, guarantee freedom, equality or safety. In recent years, human rights organisations have documented a steadily deteriorating environment for LGBTQI+ people in the country. Pride bans, restrictions on freedom of assembly, pressure on civil society organisations, censorship and public rhetoric portraying the LGBTQI+ community as a threat to the “family” and to “traditional values” have contributed to an increasingly hostile climate.

When such rhetoric comes from institutions and political leaders, its consequences do not remain confined to political debate. It shapes perceptions. It can legitimise prejudice. And it risks creating a social environment in which diversity is no longer treated as a natural part of a modern society, but as something to be restricted, hidden or “corrected”.

Living under intimidation

Intimidation does not begin and end with an arrest or a police raid.

It is also the fear of holding your partner’s hand in public. The hesitation before speaking openly about your personal life at work. The anxiety of becoming a target online. The uncertainty over whether an organisation you turn to for support will still be able to operate tomorrow. Ultimately, it is the constant calculation of how visible you can afford to be.

This is perhaps one of the most damaging consequences of an environment of institutional and social pressure: fear can force people into self-censorship and invisibility. No one should have to make themselves less visible in order to feel safe.

“Protecting the family” cannot mean excluding others

The protection of the family has become a central element of the Turkish government’s political narrative in recent years. But protecting families and protecting the rights of LGBTQI+ people are not opposing objectives.

Families are not strengthened by drawing a line between those who are considered socially acceptable and those who are portrayed as a threat. Nor can demographic challenges be effectively addressed by stigmatising a particular group of citizens.

An inclusive society can support families, children and social cohesion while also defending, without qualification, the dignity, privacy, freedom and equality of every individual. These principles are not mutually exclusive. They are fundamental components of a democratic and inclusive society.

This is not an isolated incident

The latest events are particularly concerning because they form part of a wider pattern of restrictions.

Istanbul Pride has faced bans for years, while similar restrictions have been imposed in other cities. Human rights organisations have repeatedly raised concerns about the use of broadly defined concepts such as “public morality” to restrict the rights and activities of LGBTQI+ people and organisations.

At the same time, rights groups have warned about legislative initiatives that could lead to further restrictions affecting LGBTQI+ people, including measures with particularly serious implications for transgender individuals.

The latest arrests, therefore, cannot be viewed in isolation. They must be understood within a broader environment in which LGBTQI+ people and the organisations supporting them are facing growing pressure.

Inclusion matters most when it is challenged

It is easy to talk about diversity and inclusion when they are expressed through corporate campaigns, awareness days, conferences and public statements. Their real value is tested when the rights and dignity of a minority come under pressure.

Inclusion means that no one should live in fear because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex or queer. It means that no one should feel compelled to become less visible in order to remain safe. And it means that civil society organisations must be able to defend people and their rights without fearing that their work will make them a target.

What is happening in Turkey today therefore concerns far more than the LGBTQI+ community. It concerns the quality of democracy. It concerns the space available to civil society. It concerns fundamental freedoms and the limits of state power. And, ultimately, it concerns something very simple: the right of every person to live openly and with dignity, without fear.

Diversity is not a threat to society.

The real threat is a society in which people learn to be afraid of being who they are.