This essay examines LGBTQ+ free zones in Poland. Looking at the political landscape the conservative right-wing party “Prawo i Sprawiedliwość” (PiS) has undergone a political upswing since their founding in 2001 and has recently been in government from 2015 on. The party drives a very strict anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and policy agenda, especially Andrzej Duda made it a central issue for his election campaign in July 2020.
Although the Polish constitution implies a division between church and state, the Catholic church has a big influence in the political decision-making process. The LGBTQ+ community in Poland has “long struggled with acceptance, but it is only recently that people have become bolder in showing their reluctance” and express homophobia and transphobia even more openly.
As can be seen by the attacks on participants at Pride marches in Bialystok, Lublin, Wroclaw and several others. Discrimination based on sexual orientation is illegal in Poland but so are same-sex marriage and civil unions. In 2019, multiple Polish provinces have declared themselves a “LGBTQ+ free zone”, meaning they are distancing themselves from the alleged “LGBTQ+ ideology” and show that they are refraining from broad tolerance which consequently makes the approval of LGBTQ+ events like pride marches improbable.
Content
1. Introduction
2. Overall LGBTQ+ situation in Poland
3. What are the so-called “LGBTQ+ free zones”?
4. Juridical and political impact
5. Starting point
6. Ideology behind it
7. EU sanctions
8. Conclusion
Bibliography
1. Introduction
Poland is a European country with a population of 38.5 million people, member of the European Union since 2004 and strongly influenced by the Roman Catholic Church.
Looking at the political landscape the conservative right-wing party “Prawo i Sprawiedliwosc"(PiS) has undergone a political upswing since their founding in 2001 and has recently been in government from 2015 on (Jon Henley 2019). Although the Polish constitution implies a division between church and state, the Catholic church has a big influence in the political decision-making process. “In practice (...) bishops and priests have much wider influence over education, culture, the law and politics than any other group, aside from civil servants and politicians" (Politico.eu). The PiS party as well as the Catholic church are very supportive of the current independent, populist president Andrzej Duda (Ishaan Tharoor 2020) who was recently re-elected in July 2020 after a campaign in which he openly discriminated the LGBTQ+ community in order to mobilize voters (The Associated Press 16.09.20).
Ruling politicians, the Catholic church and their supporters have degraded LGBTQ+ people in various statements calling them “pedophiles, a rainbow plague, a threat to the nation". In response almost 100 municipalities have formed so called “LGBTQ+ free zones" (Dariusz Kalan 9.11.19) 2019, to stop the spread of the alleged “LGBTQ+ ideology". The current actions and rhetoric reflect the party's successful play on minority groups. During the European migration crisis they frightened Poles by calling the incoming migrants “parasites and protozoa" (Jan Cienski 2019) . Now they seem to play the same game with the LGBTQ+ community.
2. Overall LGBTQ Situation in Poland
The LGBTQ+ community in Poland has “long struggled with acceptance, but it is only recently that people have become bolder in showing their reluctance" (Dariusz Kalan 9.11.19) and express homophobia and transphobia even more openly. As can be seen by the attacks on participants at Pride marches in Bialystok, Lublin, Wroclaw and several others (dpa).
Discrimination based on sexual orientation is illegal in Poland but so are same-sex marriage and civil unions. “Gay couples cannot take out loans, settle taxes together or inherit" (Dariusz Kalan 9.11.19) and “anti-LGBT attacks are not considered a hate crime by law" (Dariusz Kaan 2019). Furthermore, nondiscrimination protection guarding against being dismissed from a job or housing are non-existent (Dariusz Kalan 2019). Nonetheless the current incidents, a survey by “Ipsos research organization found that 56 percent of Poles support civil partnerships for same-sex couples and 41 percent back marriage rights" which are considered the highest numbers ever attained (Jan Cienski 2019).
3. What are the so-called “LGBTQ+ free zones”?
“LGBTQ+ is an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning. These terms are used to describe a person's sexual orientation or gender identity" (THE CENTER).
In 2019, multiple Polish provinces have declared themselves a “LGBTQ+ free zone", meaning they are distancing themselves from the alleged “LGBTQ+ ideology" (Bart Staszewski) and show that they are refraining from broad tolerance which consequently makes the approval of LGBTQ+ events like pride marches improbable (Bart Staszewski).
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- Quote paper
- Julia Müller (Author), 2020, LGBTQ+ free zones in Poland, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1214629