Lgbtq free zones in poland
Poland’s LGBT-Free Zones Violate Human Rights
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POLAND: ‘Despite the repeal of ‘LGBT-free zones’, LGBTQI+ people still lack basic legal protections’
CIVICUS discusses progress on LGBTQI+ rights in Poland with Annamaria Linczowska, Advocacy and Litigation Officer at Campaign Against Homophobia (KPH), a Polish LGBTQI+ rights group that works to counter violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender self through political, social and legal advocacy.
Starting in 2019, around 100 Polish municipalities declared themselves ‘LGBT-free zones‘, passing resolutions against what they termed ‘LGBT ideology’. While primarily symbolic, these declarations fostered a hostile environment for LGBTQI+ people. Monitoring persistent pressure from civil society and European institutions, these resolutions have gradually been withdrawn. When the municipality that initiated the movement officially rescinded its declaration in late 2023, it left only 15 such zones remaining. Now the terminal ‘LGBT-free zone’ resolution has been repealed.
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Świdnik, a town in south-east Poland, has become the country’s first ‘LGBT-free zone’. In March 2019, the county council declared its aim to protect children and families from ‘homosexual propaganda’ and moral degeneration. In a non-binding resolution, local politicians pledged to refrain from any deed that would encourage ‘tolerance of LGBT people’. That included withdrawing financial support for organisations that aim to promote non-discrimination and equality.
Other local governments soon followed suit, with the support of Poland’s decree right-wing, populist Law and Justice party and Catholic priests. On 1 August 2019, the archbishop of Kraków, Marek Jędraszewski, claimed that contemporary Poland was ‘no longer affected by the red plague [of communism]’ but that a new, ‘rainbow’ plague wanted to control people’s souls, hearts, and minds. His declaration was applauded by politicians from Law and Justice and by ultra-conservative organisations.
Hate speech or protection of family?
Activists Kuba Gawron, Paulina Pająk, and Paweł Preneta have created the Atlas of Hate, an online tool which lists the places where similar anti-LGBT declarations have been signed. As of Protest 20
Are Poland's LGBT-free zones here to stay?
Three years ago, more than one hundred municipalities in Poland declared themselves LGBT-free zones. Since then, queer activists and their allies acquire been pressuring the authorities to scrap the legislation, but to no avail.
For a while, the international community, and specifically the EU, expressed solidarity with Poland's LGBTQ+ rights advocates. "Europe will never allow parts of our population to be stigmatised: whether because of who they affectionate , because of age, ethnicity, political views or religious beliefs," said Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, in 2021 after the EU took legal action against Poland over the so-called LGBT-free zones.
And yet, although entire provinces in Poland still endorse discriminatory policies towards gender non-conforming individuals, the bloc concluded its proceedings a few weeks ago - an act that has raised the interrogate of whether Poland will ever be safe for Gay people.
The need for activism
The EU concluded its investigation claiming that the responses provided by the Polish government were "satisfactory." But only one third of all LGBT-free zones revoked homophobi
As in many other parts of the world, right-wing populism and discrimination against LGBTQ people have grown in Poland. For the past two years, the Polish government has declared a third of Poland's cities as LGBTQ - free zones. Reports from 2020 describe how the zones can both be seen as examples of how democratic institutions weakened during the pandemic, but also as part of a longer process of democratic degradation.
In the think tank and the non-profit association Civil maturation forums (FOR: s) announce Rule of Law in Poland 2020: The Command of Law crisis in the time of the Covid-19 pandemic Eliza Rutynowska, Marek Tatała and Patryk Wachowiec describe how, during the pandemic, authoritarian forces weakened Poland's democratic institutions by strengthening their have power and justifying restrictions on human rights. The control functions of liberal democracy have been weakened, transparency has deteriorated and anti-democratic laws have been implemented. The government, which consists of the Commandment and Justice Party and two smaller coalition parties, has also introduced restrictions on rights and freedoms without a legal basis.
Poland is ranked by ILGA-Europe, an orga