Protecting youth from harmful ideologies is globally shared duty — Erdogan

Speaking at an introduction to the "Year of Family" Promotion Programme in the capital Ankara, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has underlined the importance of protecting children and young people from "harmful deviant ideologies" that "threaten families and community structures," which he said was nations’ common responsibility.

President Erdogan said on Monday that gender-neutralisation policies that use LGBT as a "battering ram" are harmful primarily to "the family and the sanctity of the family institution."

"These contents, which are served in a conscious, deliberate, and insistent way, lead to gaining space in LGBT and other gross trends, especially in the policies of gender-neutralisation," the president said.

He also emphasised that Türkiye is "one of the rare countries that boldly object to this climate on every platform," including the UN General Assembly.

"The primary goal of the gender neutralization policies, in which LGBT is used as a battering ram, is the family and the sanctity of the family institution."

"We will further strengthen our position in the coming period," he added. "No matter what anyone says, Türkiye's attitude on this issue is obvious, there will never be a step back from it."