Violence Increases for Turkish TranssexualsGender-reassignment surgery is legal in Turkey, but there are no laws to protect transgender people from discrimination as there are in some Western countries. A tradition of tolerance for cross-dressing and same-sex liaisons that existed in the old Ottoman Empire has long faded.
Rights groups say transsexuals face increasing violence, and this reflects a wider trend in Turkish society—the growing influence of Islam in daily life since the center-right AK Party, which has Islamist roots, came to power in 2002.
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