Media Diversity Institute

By Zuzanna Romanowicz, student at the Faculty of Journalism, Media and Book Studies at the University of Warsaw 

Zones free of LGBTQ+. Attacks on parades. Banned rainbow flags. That was the reality of the LGBTQ+ community under the government of the Law and Justice (PiS) party and President Andrzej Duda in Poland. It came as no surprise that when the more leftist and central parties in the Polish parliament united to try to win the 2023 election, minorities, including the LGBTQ+ community, hoped for a campaign and government that finally included their voices. While it can’t be denied that Poland under the new government has made positive moves, such as removing “LGBT Ideology Free Zones”, the community wants more protection.  

“The 2023 elections brought an explosion of hope for a positive, more progressive future. People were tired of the stuffy, insular, and nationalistic policies and discourse,” says Hubert Sobecki from Miłość Nie Wyklucza (Love Doesn’t Discriminate), a non-governmental organisation that works to bring marriage equality to same-sex couples in Poland.  

With a new government in power, the community wanted two pieces of legislation to protect their rights. The first was protection from hate speech and hate crimes, which would provide safety from potential hate campaigns that have been present in the past. Secondly, they wanted legal protection for same-sex couples and for possible adoptions of children by them. Since there was no political support for the changes, ...Read more