Sexual violence, threat against trans women in İstanbul

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The Human Rights Association (İHD) İstanbul Branch LGBTI+ Rights Commission held a press statement today (February 15) and addressed the reporters about the racketeering, sexual violence and threats against trans women in Taksim's Tarlabaşı in Beyoğlu.

Speaking at the meeting, İHD Co-Chair and lawyer Eren Keskin said that the managers of the Bahriyeli Pub, some 20 meters from the police station in Tarlabaşı, received a "street fee" from the trans women, they inflicted sexual violence on the women and threatened them.

Noting that the women applied to the commission, Eren Keskin said, "We, as the İHD LGBTI+ Rights Commission, have addressed the incident and now hold the power of attorney on their behalf. We will file a criminal complaint; we have requested protection."

Keskin stressed that they expect rulings that are not transphobic from the courts. Underlining that no one has the right to racketeer under the name of a "street fee", she said, "There are several crimes such as sexual violence and threat. We have evidence. We warn the ones who do this: Stop. We also warn the police station right next to it: Do your job, don't discriminate."

'Pressure from police, state, club managers'

As reported by Kaos GL, the women subjected to pressure and violence took the floor at the meeting afterwards. They briefly said: 

"There is such a huge pressure from the police, from the state, from the club managers... One of these guys was about to stab my friend the other day and the neighborhood guard just laughed away.

"There are incidents we do not want to go through, we find it so hard. They beat some of our friends, they racketeer some. We have neither the state nor another institution behind us. We have problems with neighborhood guards as well. We don't deserve any of this. We want to live freely in our own country. No one can subject us to pressure."

"We try to protect one another as friends. People always see us as third class citizens. They harass us when we don't do what they want.

"If we don't abide by their rules, they either make us leave the city or injure us. If we don't give them the money they want, we either get beaten up or we cannot go to the street. We don't want to live always on alert. We all have families and we don't want our families to be given bad news.

"Whenever you go to the police station, police officers don't take you seriously because you are trans." (EMK/SD)