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Description
This project addresses the problem of discrimination and hate speech towards LGBT people. Polish Criminal Code does not mention gender identity and sexual orientation grounds as characteristics protected by law, while the government recently declared a provision protecting LGBT people and others against discrimination with respect to access to services as unconstitutional. A political and media hate campaign has been conducted since 2018 - many local government authorities have adopted homophobic resolutions, and the state apparatus uses repressive methods against LGBT activists. Society is becoming increasingly polarized. 41% of the public believe that LGBT persons “flaunt" their orientation, and 27% consider them a threat to the family. On the other hand, LGBT people are becoming more visible publicly, and acceptance for them is increasing. The Project Promoter will conduct a media campaign featuring articles, graphic materials, films, podcasts and debates. The series ‘LGBT friendly zones’ will consist of information about initiatives to help LGBT people. The Project Promoter will monitor statements made by politicians and the government’s and media activities in terms of prejudice and discrimination. The series ‘Get to know LGBT people’ will feature LGBT people’s stories. The Project Promoter will also take action to review statements made by public figures and debunk myths. A series of regular nationwide polls on how LGBT people are perceived will be a major element of the project. 250 people will take an active part in the project, while the materials will reach up to one million people. The aim of the project is to increase public awareness of the situation of LGBT people in Poland, and provide more information about their daily lives to a broader range of readers, while involving them in the subject of LGBT people’s rights. In the long term, the project could help to improve the well-being of non-heteronormative people in living in Poland.
Summary of project results
The project responds to the problem of discrimination and hate speech against LGBT people. The Penal Code does not include the premise of gender identity and psychosexual orientation as legally protected characteristics, moreover, several years ago, the authorities declared unconstitutional a provision protecting, inter alia, LGBT persons from discrimination in access to services. LGBT persons are therefore deprived of effective legal protection in Poland. Moreover, a political and media campaign of hatred has continued in recent years, with many local authorities passing homophobic resolutions and the state apparatus repressing LGBT activists. Social polarisation continues to advance. As many as 41% of the public believe that LGBT people ''flaunt'' their orientation and 27% see them as a threat to the family (2019). On the other hand, the visibility of LGBT people in public spaces is increasing.
Project Promoter conducted an information and education campaign on LGBT rights in Poland, publishing articles, graphics, videos, podcasts in three thematic series. The series ''LGBT-friendly zones'' provided information on initiatives in favour of LGBT people. Under ''A country without homophobia'', Project Promoter monitored the statements of politicians and the actions of authorities and the media in terms of prejudice and discrimination. The series ''Meet LGBT people'' featured the stories of LGBT people and communities. Project Promoter was also involved in verifying statements made by public figures (fact-checking and debunking) and monitoring changes in public opinion about LGBT people by conducting and analysing surveys. Two open debates were also organised.
The activities were aimed at readers of the OKO.press portal, people seeking reliable information on the LGBT community in Poland, people working in the civic sector, public institutions, as well as the LGBT community itself. Public awareness of the situation of LGBT people in Poland has been raised, and in the long term the project has the potential to contribute to improving the well-being of non-heteronormative people living in Poland. It has been possible to create a media knowledge base and archive on the rights of the LGBT community in Poland, which provides a systematic overview of the most important events concerning non-heteronormative and transgender people, as well as key facts about the social movement and specific identities in the era of right-wing rule in Poland. The archive makes it possible to reconstruct the number of violations of LGBT rights by state institutions in Poland, as well as to show the standard of equality built bypassing the parliamentary route (the fight for the rights of the LGBT community before the Polish and European courts).