Eleven members of Turkey's Genç LGBTI+ association, a youth-focused LGBT+ rights organization, appeared in court on April 8 facing charges of "obscenity" and "endangering family protection," according to their legal representative.
The accused are being prosecuted for allegedly breaching an article of the constitution regarding family values. Prosecutors allege they violated this law by sharing social media posts depicting same-sex couples in intimate moments—content Turkish authorities have classified as obscene. If convicted, they could receive prison sentences of up to three years and lose their civil rights.
Although Turkey's legal code does not criminalize homosexuality itself, the nation's LGBT+ population faces regular hostility from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his governing AK Party. Both have publicly linked LGBT+ issues to Turkey's falling birth rates, using this argument to justify their opposition.
But Turkey isn't the only country where LGBT+ people face legal persecution and hostility. Millions of queer individuals around the world continue to live in fear, their lives shadowed by hate and intolerance. From a legal point of view, simply being who they are can lead to persecution and even death, but the public’s animosity can also turn violent before the law steps in. Indeed, some of the worst countries for LGBT+ individuals in terms of violence actually offer considerable legal protections.
Some nations truly are incredibly dangerous for LGBT+ folk, places where they experience harrowing violence without reprieve. Click through this gallery to see which countries they are.