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  • Writer's pictureLina Idrees

Being LGBTQ+ in Poland

Updated: Apr 8, 2021


In a country where your sexual identity is considered part of a wider, damaging ‘ideology’ - simply existing is an act of resistance. Such is the case of Poland, which is home to some 38 million people and is one of Europe’s most Catholic countries with about 86% of the population identifying as Roman Catholic. It has been called one of the ‘worst countries in the EU for LGBT rights’ where an anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric is echoed by politicians and figures in Poland’s influential Catholic Church.


‘LGBT-Free Zones’


Around 100 towns and regions across Poland since early 2019 have passed resolutions, declaring themselves free of “LGBT ideology”. According to an “Atlas of Hate” map created by activists, an area greater than the size of Hungary has effectively become an “LGBT-free zone”. The Polish Embassy in the United States released a statement claiming that the zones- which cover one third of Poland- are “legally non-binding declarations that have been adopted by a small minority of local governments in Poland”.


One of the resolutions, passed in April 2019 by the local council in Ryki, a town 100 kilometres southeast of Warsaw, says its purpose is to “defend children, youth, families, and Polish schools from sexual depravity and indoctrination, which lead to many pathologies already existing in Western countries, such as accepting pornography, abortion, sexual criminality, the crisis of the family and many others”.


While these resolutions are not legally binding and mostly ‘symbolic’ they are entirely discriminatory and undermine the rights of those who are part of the LGBTQ+ community. It reflects the views of an overwhelming number of local officials and individuals who have continued to fuel the hostility towards members of the minority community. In response to these detrimental resolutions, the EU has blocked funding for 6 towns who claim to be “LGBT-Free Zones”. In late July, the European Commission said it was affirming that the union stands for equality for all people and would withhold development funding for 6 Polish municipalities, which have not been identified.


"EU values and fundamental rights must be respected by Member States and state authorities," European Commissioner for Equality, this is why six town-twinning applications involving Polish authorities that adopted LGBTI free zones’ or ‘family rights’ resolutions were rejected” Helena Dalli, wrote on Twitter.


This reaction is a reminder that the European Commission’s funding to member states cannot and should not be improperly used by countries like Poland who persistently breach fundamental rights which are core to EU membership. While many local councils like the one in Ryki have come up with their own resolutions opposing ‘LGBT ideology’, 34 others have attempted to conceal their homophobia with a “Municipal Charter of Family Rights”. Despite the ‘pro-family’ charter not explicitly referring to ‘anti-LGBT ideology’ or propaganda, putting family values of the forefront of these blatantly homophobic resolutions implies that being part of the LGBTQ+ community is a threat to the family unit.


Anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric in Poland


As outrageous as these “LGBT-free zones” may seem, politicians and government officials have contributed to the growing resentment towards what has been referred to as the ‘LGBT ideology’. The non-binding resolutions coincide with a rise in rhetoric by the government Law and Justice Party (PiS) denouncing 'LGBT ideology’ as an allegedly foreign concept imported from the US and Western Europe- one which is a direct threat to the traditional heterosexual Polish family.


In a campaign when he stood for re-election, President Andrzej Duda called the promotion of LGBTQ+ rights an ideology ‘even more destructive’ than Communism. Politicians like Duda have expressed their concern towards what magazine editor Tomazs Sakieiwicz describes as ‘aggressive ideology promoting homosexuality’.


“The year 2015 when the Law and Justice party came into power, is a significant pivotal moment marking the beginning in systematic decline in the quality of living conditions of the LGBT community in Poland.”

  • Karolina Gierdal, lawyer at the Campaign Against Homophobia, a Warsaw-based rights group

Since their election success in 2015, the PiS has continued to deploy their inflammatory anti-LGBT rhetoric that has helped fuel homophobic violence across Poland, including during the protests in August this year.


On August 7th, hundreds of hundreds of LGBTQ+ protestors marched the streets in Warsaw on August 7th to demonstrate against the arrest of 22 year old non-binary activist Margot Szutowicz. Margot is the co-founder of queer collective Stop Bzdurom (Stop Bullshit) and was arrested in June for causing damage to a truck that had been promoting discriminatory anti-LGBTQ+ homophobia, but was released shortly after. After her re-arrest on August 7th, protests erupted and the Polish police detained 48 people who were protesting in solidarity with the jailed activist.

It is important to note that while the anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric has intensified, an equal amount of solidarity and support has increased. The August protests saw politicians and lawyers rallying in support for the LGTBQ+ community, and the powerful protests have been dubbed as the ‘Polish Stone Wall.’ Solidarity marches took place in Hungary and New York, and Stop Bzdurom used its growing network to raise more than 18,000 Euros to support activists.


At the end of September, ambassadors from 50 countries including Poland’s EU partners, urged the Polish government to ‘protect all citizens from violence and discrimination’- especially communities in need of protection. You can read the letter here.


‘Attitudes towards the LGBTQ community have come a long way’


The wave of global support for Poland’s LGBTQ+ community will continue to grow and underline the importance of queer community and solidarity across borders. Moreover, EU member states must take more concrete action to ensure that Poland’s government takes the appropriate steps to ensure the protection of the LGTBQ+ community.

 

You can also find my article on the Fourth Floor's website:

https://www.fourthfloor.uk/politics-and-economy/being-lgbtq-in-poland Fourth Floor is a West London based collective dissecting the world and promoting young creatives across the globe.


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