The Problematization of Hate Crime Legislation in Turkey
Bengi Bezirgan · Oxford University Press eBooks · 2016
The chapter focuses on the problematical aspect of the legislative response to hate crime phenomenon in the Turkish case. It principally draws attention to the exclusion of historically stigmatized communities from hate crime legislation. By addressing the continuing discriminatory state policies it is argued that the construction and reproduction of the ‘ideal citizen’ raise the question of the legitimacy of victimhood of particular groups. The idea of the ‘legitimate victim’ thus outshines and normalizes the vulnerability and victimization of ethnic and sexual minorities in the Turkish legislative system. The central regulation in Turkish law proscribing hate-motivated conduct accordingly fails to encompass ethnicity and sexual orientation as protected characteristics. This selective understanding of victimhood in law enforcement in Turkey also leads to the trivialization of hate-motivated violence against already marginalized communities due to their distinct ethnic and sexual identities.