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Description
The project is the first anti-discrimination educational activity addressed to the uniformed services. It aim is to raise awareness about discrimination in the workplace, identify threats and teach how to respond to it appropriately. The project is a response to the lack of systemic solutions in the uniformed services, the lack of anti-discrimination procedures and legal regulations, the lack of a ‘check list’ for reporting officers and supervisors, the lack of protection of whistleblowers from retaliation, the lack of legal and psychological assistance for reporting officers, the lack of anti-discrimination education for the uniformed services and the candidates, the lack of training on mechanisms of support and stress management, conflict resolutions and counteracting violent behavior. The subordination of psychologists and others to whom complaints are reported does not guarantee objectivity and effectiveness in solving the problem of discrimination. There is a lack of statistical data on this problem. A 2009 survey of 140 female soldiers by the Army Social Research Bureau confirmed that more than 30% respondents had encountered bullying (12% personally, 21.5% witnessed), 6% had experienced sexual abuse, and 12.6% harassment. The direct beneficiaries of the project are soldiers, officers and civilian employees, indirect – the management staff, commanders, heads of training centers, decision-makers in the Ministries of forces, witnesses of acts of discrimination in the place of service, personnel attorneys of uniformed institutions, witnesses of discriminatory actions, trade unions of various services. As part of the project we will develop a guide for uniformed services, conduct a public awareness campaign, produce three movies dedicated to three subjects: discrimination, law, and psychology, and record 3-12 podcasts – interviews with experts.
Summary of project results
The #SayStop Foundation was established in protest against the state''s inaction, the lack of systemic solutions and the desire to support and help people struggling with the problem of discrimination in uniformed services in Poland. The Foundation is the first and so far the only non-governmental organization in Poland helping people from uniformed communities, which has challenged all security institutions in Poland in terms of support and systemic solutions. The project from the Active Citizens Program was implemented primarily based on the need to educate uniformed communities about their rights and the need to reach as many recipients as possible.
As part of the "STOP discrimination in uniformed services" project, the first Guide was created for uniformed services, containing, among others, the path to follow in the event of discrimination, psychological aspects accompanying this phenomenon, as well as available legal regulations. The project included 12 podcasts with people, including those from the uniformed services, presenting people who had experienced discrimination, as well as psychologists and lawyers who presented possible solutions. Three film projects that showed discrimination from different perspectives will serve as a guide in recognizing inappropriate behavior. Support for the Program made it possible to publicize the existing problem of the lack of systemic support solutions for people reporting discrimination in uniformed services in Poland and at the same time opened a discussion both in the Polish Parliament and the European Parliament about the need for education and implementation of new solutions to prevent discrimination. Very good substantive preparation of the people creating the Active Citizens Program allowed the Foundation, as a young non-governmental organization, to implement the project''s assumptions with a sense of respect, security and full support.
1. knowledge-applications. 230 people reported to the Foundation during the AO. 2. addressees of the information will take anti-discrimination actions in the services Trade Unions, education-training with the participation of ZZ (10): amendment to the Act on the General Staff submitted in November 2022-1 ;anti-discrimination workshops with the participation of representatives of the Police ZZ of the province. Małopolska and ZZ Civil Workers. Police-2;Report of the Foundation presented in the Sejm of the Republic of Poland on November 7, 2022 together with ZZ "Solidarność" of the Silesian Voivodeship-1;Conference of ZZ Police of the Lubuskie Voivodeship, Słubice-9/09/2022-1;Talks at the Nadwiślański Branch of SG-5.3 .common knowledge in public opinion about the phenomenon of discrimination in closed service structures and expanding knowledge of the problem, information - victim versus system - common knowledge about the lack of systemic help for victims, interested persons/institutions will benefit from the training proposed by the Foundation - 50 people - Anti-discrimination workshops - December 27 and 28, 2022 in Krakow - 60 people, Anti-discrimination workshops - 08/2022 in Olsztyn as part of Campus Polska–40 people.4.2 institutions, including: for people affected by discrimination, for candidates for services (uniformed classes), for command staff and service training centers. ZZ Police in Słubice, ZZ SG (Nadwiślański Branch). Guide - based on the data contained in the Guide, we have prepared an interactive anti-discrimination workshop. 6 hours within which a maximum of 30 people can be trained. The workshop includes quizzes, exercises and discussions among participants. The workshop contains legal and psychological information in the event of discriminatory and/or mobbing activities. The first pilot workshops took place in Krakow on December 27 and 28, 2022. In December 2022, at the request of the SG Headquarters and the KGSP, an offer of workshops for management staff was submitted. Thanks to the activities within the project, the Foundation
was also invited to the European Parliament for a hearing on "Hearing on sexual violence and rape as abuses of power", where the President of the Foundation presented the data collected during the period of its activity and compared it with the data provided to the Foundation by the uniformed services. For 21 months, the Foundation received 176 reports of mobbing (sexual harassment, discrimination), and uniformed services (350,000) received 516 reports over 10 years. The Polish uniformed services do not conduct education, statistics or assistance activities for victims. The postulates together with the Report regarding the changes were presented on November 7, 2022 in the Sejm of the Republic of Poland. One of the demands is to start work on the anti-discrimination law, which will define a nationwide entity, subsidized from the state budget, that will receive and process discrimination reports. This body will be completely independent from the services and at the same time will provide real psychological and legal support. The body will conduct training in the field of counteracting mobbing, and the act will specify disciplinary and criminal liability. The number of people who applied for help to the Foundation in the second period was 128. The posts reached 5.2 thousand people.