Homophobic attack in the Turkish capital

Can T., who works at a beauty salon in Ankara, the capital of Turkey, was physically assaulted following homophobic remarks made by a man who had entered the salon as a customer. Can T., whose nose was broken in the incident, stated that he intends to pursue legal action, reported Kaos GL.

According to Can T., an aesthetic specialist at the salon, a man who arrived as a customer targeted him with comments such as "Are you a man?" and "I call this a woman—look at his earring; is that what a man looks like?" The man then attacked him, saying, "I’ll hack you to pieces; I have nothing to lose." Can T. stated that he had previously worked at the same salon but had taken a break due to his studies, and that the attack occurred on his very first day back at work: "He grabbed a makeup mirror from the table and was about to strike me, but I blocked him. During the verbal altercation, he punched me in the head and face five or six times. My boss pulled me away from him, and he beat my boss as well. Had my boss not intervened, he would have killed me or put me in a coma. My earring and necklaces were broken, and my lip was split open. There was blood everywhere. Even in the center of Kızılay, the police and ambulance took half an hour to arrive. The police officer at the checkpoint even tried to brush me off."

Noting that he suffered a broken nose and persistent headaches as a result of the attack, Can T. emphasized that he would pursue legal action: "I will absolutely not stop the legal process; I will never give up. They don't consider us human. I had photos and videos taken immediately after the beating; we are forced to seek justice through social media."

Kaos GL's 2025 hate crimes report highlights the prevalence of violence motivated by homophobia and transphobia in Turkey. Sixty-two percent of the study participants reported having been direct victims of a hate crime, while 38 percent reported having witnessed a hate crime.

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