section_path: Government and politics/LGBT rights
section_name: LGBT rights
paragraph_text: LGBT rights
  
  Homosexual activity has been decriminalized in Turkey since 1858. LGBT people have had the right to seek asylum in Turkey under the Geneva Convention since 1951. However, LGBT people in Turkey face discrimination, harassment and even violence. The Turkish authorities have carried out many discriminatory practices. Despite these, LGBT acceptance in Turkey is growing. In a survey conducted in 2016, 33% of respondents said that LGBT people should have equal rights, which increased to 45% in 2020. Another survey in 2018 found that the proportion of people who would not want a homosexual neighbor decreased from 55% in 2018 to 47% in 2019. A 2015 poll found that 27% of the Turkish public was in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage and 19% supported civil unions instead.
  
  When the annual Istanbul Pride was inaugurated in 2003, Turkey became the first Muslim-majority country to hold a gay pride march. Since 2015, parades at Taksim Square and İstiklal Avenue (where the Gezi Park protests took place) have been denied government permission, citing security concerns, but hundreds of people have defied the ban each year. Critics have claimed that the bans were in fact ideological.