“If You’re A Trans Sex Worker, Being Murdered is A Part of It”

Banner: "Trans murders are political"

Çağla Joker was murdered on Monday night at the age 25. Her friend Nalan was injured from her neck. 

Following the incident, right advocates came together with the appeal of İstanbul LGBTT at Joker’s murder scene, Daracık Street. “Those who regard themselves as rulers, hear us! We are reminding your blind eyes to see and your deaf ears to hear: there must be a hate crime legislation which includes ‘sexual orientation and sexual identity’ in our fight against LGBTT hate crimes,” they said in a statement.    

Daracık Sokak hosts several trans sex workers’ apartments where they work and live. 

A sense of sorrow filled in the street, but no one’s shocked. 

“This kind of attacks happen very frequently,” Didem, a bystander at the time of incident, told bianet. 

An older women right next to her said: “I’ve been living on this street for 5 years. There are attacks all the time towards trans women, but it’s my first time seeing a murder here. He didn’t shoot because he didn’t want to scare her; he shot her right from her chest.” 

Most of the women I’ve spoken to on the street were attacked before. They said they’re an easy target because “police doesn’t care when there is a crime against trans people”.

Friends carried her body out

Didem told bianet what happened the night of the incident: “It was between 12 am and 1 am. I heard the gun shots first, and right after that, her screams. I turned my head, and saw two people running out of the apartment. We ran upstairs; Nalan was down on the floor, covered with blood. Joker tried to approach the window for help but she fell down right in front of it. We don’t know why this happened. Joker made a deal with 2 customers and went upstairs. They went into the room together. After a while, we heard the gun shots. People on the street saw their faces, police took the sketch of attackers.” 

Another trans person whose name is also Didem said attackers showed their knife to Çağla Joker and Çağla called Nalan for help and then attackers started to shooting. 

“Police was extremely quiet that night. They did nothing, just stood there like nothing was going on. We carried Çağla’s body downstairs and put her into the corpse bag.”  

Constant attacks 

Didem lives on this street and earns money as a sex worker. “This kind of attacks occur very frequently,” she said.  

Didem was also attacked before. One of the customers she made a deal with took her to the Kasımpaşa Park, and then cut her throat with a knife and forcibly took her things.

“They caught him but released him the day after. I have a trial on June 4,” she continued.  

“Murders became a part of our daily lives”

I went to the house where Çağla Joker worked. The floor she was murdered was locked. I started to talk to a woman living downstairs. She said that there have been many attacks in the same building, couple of days ago gun shots were heard, but luckily no one was hurt. 

There is an incident every day. They come here to buy drugs and hijacking, especially during night time. I couldn’t handle it, so I work during the day now. We live with the fear of death all the time. Friends being murdered and all of these attacks became a part of our daily life. Today is an ordinary day…

“When I go outside, I pretend I don’t hear the insults and the curses. I bend my head down and keep on walking. Çağla is safer now in a way. Is what we’re living, life?”

“Urban renewal pushed trans people to insecure streets”

On my way back I ran into Ebru Kırancı from İstanbul LGBTT who said: “Sadly, this is not the last murder. Where are the cops who raid trans people’s houses every night?”

She also mentioned how urban renewal affected trans people and how they’re going to have to work at insecure streets after the completion of the project. (ÇT/ENÜ/BM)

* Click here to read the article in Turkish.