Abstract for: Policing Incentives and the Cycle of Marginalization: The Impact of Police Bonus System on Trans Sex Workers in Turkiye

This paper examines the relationship between police enforcement practices and the trans sex worker community in Istanbul, focusing on the police bonus system introduced in 2009. Drawing on Aslı Zengin’s Violent Intimacies, it explores how this system incentivized officers to disproportionately target trans sex workers, creating a reinforcing cycle of increased sex work and policing. A causal loop diagram is constructed to map the feedback mechanisms driving this cycle. The model identifies economic pressures, police incentives, and adaptation strategies among sex workers and police. It shows how the bonus system creates financial incentives for ticketing minor infractions, reinforcing systemic discrimination and encouraging police to target vulnerable communities. The analysis shows that the police bonus system reinforces economic pressures on trans sex workers, compelling them to engage in more sex work to pay fines. Over time, both police and sex workers adapted their strategies, with police finding new ways to justify fines and sex workers developing tactics to protect themselves. Policy interventions should focus on empowering local activism, educating sex workers about their legal rights, and revising the bonus system to target actual crimes rather than marginalized groups. However, resistance to change remains strong due to the bonus system's perceived benefits. Long-term reform requires shifting public opinion to reduce systemic discrimination. ChatGPT was used for grammar checks for written manuscript