The influence of the European Union membership bid on anti-discrimination law vis-à-vis sexual orientation or gender identity and the LGBTI social movement in Turkey

Abstract

This dissertation assesses the impact of the Turkey’s accession negotiations to the European Union (EU) on anti-discrimination law vis-à-vis sexual orientation and gender identity. The research also explores how this accession process has become progressive regarding to LGBTI social movement in Turkey. Besides it examines the EU nondiscrimination law and the EU Directives from the historical ground and its changing structure to the current debates. The fight for the equal treatment of homo- and heterosexuals and equalized acceptance of LGBTI people in the society is indeed backbreaking in Turkey, where there is still no law for protection against the discrimination. The comparative analysis of the European Commission’s Progress Reports on Turkey and critical examination of the Copenhagen Criteria has shown that the need for legal provisions against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity is indeed undisputable if Turkey keeps its bid on gaining full membership from the EU. Based on the empirical research, that was conducted as a poll in order to find out the perception of the Turkish citizens towards correlation between the European Accession period and LGBTI rights, has proved that 72% of the respondents think that LGBTI rights will be positively influenced if and when Turkey becomes a member and almost half of the respondents think that this accession period has a positive impact