Turkey targets LGBTQI+ medical organisations, isolating arrested people with HIV

Turkish authorities have stepped up restrictions on hundreds of associations and medical organisations providing care to LGBTQI+ patients, the nation’s doctors have warned.1The Turkish Medical Association, the largest trade union representing medical doctors in Turkey, said that authorities began a wave of action after the government launched its national My Family is Safe campaign on 12 September.Officials claimed the initiative was needed to protect children and family values from influences on their sexual orientation and gender identity.It forms part of the Turkish government’s wider Decade of Family and Population programme, aimed in part at tackling the country’s falling birth rate.My Family is Safe has so far seen more than 400 websites and social media accounts, including those belonging to LGBTQI+ rights groups, activists, and health organisations, blocked or restricted.Among those affected are the Sexual Education, Treatment, and Research Association, whose account was withheld on X, and the Psychiatric Association of…