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(POLAND) - The rights of LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) people is a hot-button issue around the world today, and it has been for many years. In recent weeks, tensions have flared in Poland over LGBTQ rights. In the European Union (EU), twenty-seven countries allow same-sex marriage, but it is still illegal in Poland.
While Poland does have laws against employment discrimination on the basis of gender and sexual orientation, the Polish parliament rejected a bill in 2016 that would have protected citizens from hate crimes motivated by their gender identity or sexuality. Many nations, in the EU and elsewhere, have adopted similar laws to protect citizens from such abuse.
Despite heavy anti-LGBTQ sentiments in Poland, things have come a long way toward acceptance in recent years. In 2011, Robert Biedron, mayor of the Polish city of Slupsk, came out as both gay and an atheist. He says he’s been called less and less homophobic slurs and insults over the years, crediting recent pride demonstrations with the progress in society.
In February 2019, Biedron started a new progressive political party ahead of the elections in May. In March of 2019, the mayor of Poland’s capital city, Warsaw, signed a charter that pledged to fight against anti-LGBTQ bullying in schools.
The reigning right-wing Law and Justice party of Poland declared the charter an attack on children and their families. In the same month, the first of over 100 Polish towns signed a resolution condemning “LGBT ideology." which soon became known as LGBT-Free Zones. Since then, authorities in over one-third of Polish cities have identified their areas as LGBT-Free Zones.
In July 2020, the European Commission announced it would be withholding development funding from six Polish municipalities that identified themselves as LGBT-Free Zones. These zones have no real legal value, but do have a very dangerous symbolic value. The EU allows the European Commission to withhold funds they think may be misused by member nations that breach fundamental rights norms and rules set by the Commission. Poland has broken such rules stating the importance of non-discrimination and tolerance in the EU.
Due to the intensity of the situation in Poland, many activists are left with no choice but to flee the country. LGBTQ Poles feel they have to escape the harsh homophobic reality of life at home. The Catholic Archbishop of Krakow warned of a “rainbow plague” last year, claiming LGBTQ rights to be a threat to Poland’s Catholic identity. Many citizens face backlash from both the Roman Catholic Church, as well as the ruling Law and Justice party.
Polish authorities seem to be determined to enforce discrimination, making the lives of LGBTQ citizens extremely difficult. Many people emigrate to more LGBTQ-friendly countries like Britain, Germany, and the Netherlands where they can marry, adopt children, and keep jobs.
Earlier in August, several thousand Poles flooded the streets of Warsaw to protest the jailing of LGBTQ activists. One activist was arrested for hanging rainbow banners over various statues, some of Jesus, in the city. Police detained forty-eight protestors, most of whom were released the next day. Police say peaceful protests across Poland will only get more violent as people continue to object to the unjust anti-LGBTQ laws.
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