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129-518: A series of direct actions carried out by the collective in the summer of 2020 provoked a wide media attention and a deeply polarized social discussion on the rights of LGBT+ people , attended by, among others representatives of the world of culture, science, the highest levels of Polish politics or the hierarchs of the Catholic Church in Poland . The organization disbanded itself in 2021. In

258-459: A BBC interview in September 2020, Szutowicz explained: "I want to show my community that we no longer have to live in fear [...] For years we've been asking for minimal provisions and legislation that would protect us – if not from discrimination, then at least from physical violence." Regarding whether violence was a valid method of resistance, she answered: "People who have not lived the lives of

387-649: A HIV-positive persons. As "risk behaviours" can be performed by a person regardless of gender or sexuality, that ensured legal right for queer people to donate blood as long as they have met other requirements. Despite that, as late as in August 2007 Regional Blood Donation and Treatment Center in Bydgoszcz ( pl.: Regionalne Centrum Krwiodawstwa i Krwiolecznictwa w Bydgoszczy, or RCKiK Bydgoszcz ) has included questions about same sex relations among both men and women in their mandatory questionaries, as brought to attention in

516-551: A Western observer may not be "same-sex" or "sexual" at all to the people engaging in such behaviour. For example, in the Bugis cultures of Sulawesi , a female who dresses and works in a masculine fashion and marries a woman is seen as belonging to a third gender ; to the Bugis , their relationship is not homosexual (see sexual orientation and gender identity ). In the case of 'Sambia' (a pseudonym ) boys in New Guinea who ingest

645-1166: A ban should not exist in the Polish military. In 2011, according to a poll by TNS Polska, 54% of Poles supported same-sex partnerships, while 27% supported same-sex marriage. In a 2013 opinion poll conducted by CBOS , 68% of Poles were against gays and lesbians publicly showing their way of life, 65% of Poles were against same-sex civil unions , 72% were against same-sex marriage and 88% were against adoption by same-sex couples. Societal attitudes toward homosexuality#Association with child sexual abuse and pedophilia Societal attitudes toward homosexuality vary greatly across different cultures and historical periods, as do attitudes toward sexual desire, activity and relationships in general. All cultures have their own values regarding appropriate and inappropriate sexuality ; some sanction same-sex love and sexuality , while others may disapprove of such activities in part. As with heterosexual behaviour, different sets of prescriptions and proscriptions may be given to individuals according to their gender , age, social status or social class . Many of

774-451: A civil partnership bill proposed by Your Movement , with 235 MPs voting against debating the bill, and 185 MPs voting for. In May 2015, the Sejm again refused to deal with the topic, with 215 MPs voting against and only 146 for. Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz said that civil partnerships were an issue for the next Parliament to deal with. A new partnership bill was proposed on 12 February 2018 by

903-646: A clear turning point, marking the transformation of current activist activity by Małgorzata "Margot" Szutowicz and Łania Madej into the Stop Bzdurom collective were the repercussions after a verbal skirmish between them and several passers-by with the Pro Foundation volunteers, which took place on May 15, 2019 at the Warsaw "Pan" (the square in front of the Metro Centrum entrance). As a result, there

1032-656: A commander". Openly transgender people are officially barred from military service on the medical grounds. Diagnosis of gender dysphoria results in being automatically assigned as "permanently and completely unfit for military service, both in the time of conflict and peace". In February 2019, Modern MPs alongside Campaign Against Homophobia activists submitted a draft bill to the Sejm to ban gay conversion therapy . The draft bill aims to ban using, promoting or advertising conversion practices. It will also prohibit promoting people or entities that offer, use, advertize or promote

1161-674: A crime. Since 1994, the United Nations Human Rights Committee has also ruled that such laws violate the right to privacy guaranteed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights . Of the nations with a majority of Muslim inhabitants, many, even those with secular constitutions, continue to outlaw homosexuality, though only in a minority (Yemen and Afghanistan )

1290-510: A diagnosis of distress related to one's sexual orientation until 2019 ( ICD-11 ). Diagnosing a person with a medical or mental health condition on the basis of sexual orientation is no longer allowable under either of these leading diagnostic manuals. Many religious groups and other advocates, like National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), believe that they can "heal" or "cure" homosexuality through conversion therapy or other methods to change sexual orientation . In

1419-506: A document released by the conservative Christian organization Alliance Defense Fund states: The homosexual activist movement are driving an agenda that will severely limit the ability to live and practice the Gospel, whether it is in the boardroom, the classroom, halls of government, private organizations, and even in places of worship. In their relentless attempts to obtain special rights, that no other special interest group has, they are in

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1548-596: A document which recommended the creation of counseling centres "to help people who want to regain their sexual health and natural sexual orientation". It insists that the scientific consensus that conversion therapy is ineffective and potentially harmful to be " political correctness ". In 2005 the Ministry of Health has changed the laws regarding blood donation, eliminating the "risk groups" that included gay men, and replaced them with "risk behaviours" such as frequent changes in sexual partners, or having sexual relations with

1677-455: A heterosexual-only institution. Historian Kamil Karczewski has documented a homosexual relationship that could be considered the first known case of a same-sex marriage in Poland's history. This union involved Marian Kuleszyński and Stefan Góralski, residents of the Suwałki region in the early 1920s. Although kept secret and devoid of legal recognition, their commitment was founded on loyalty,

1806-482: A left-wing Government, the Senate approved the bill allowing gay and lesbian couples to register their relationship. Parties to a civil union under the bill would have been given a great range of benefits, protections and responsibilities (e.g. pension funds, joint tax and death-related benefits), currently granted only to spouses in a marriage, although they would not have been allowed to adopt children. The bill lapsed in

1935-481: A letter by Campaign Against Homophobia . In a response letter later the same month RCKiK Bydgoszcz has made a choice to reevaluate their questionaries in favour of more non discriminatory language. In 2008, the National Blood Center proposed regulations banning blood donation by gay and bisexual men, and addition of a question "Have you, as a man, ever had any sexual relations with another men?" into

2064-637: A more positive attitude toward lesbians. Herek (1984) found that heterosexual females tended to exhibit equally positive or negative attitudes toward gay men and lesbians. The heterosexual males, however, tended to respond more negatively, or unfavorably, to gay men than lesbians. Social psychologists such as Gregory Herek have examined underlying motivations for homophobia (hostility toward lesbians and gays), and cultural theorists have noted how portrayals of homosexuality often center around stigmatized phenomena such as AIDS , pedophilia, and gender variance. The extent to which such portrayals are stereotypes

2193-921: A partner dies without leaving a will; and social security and tax benefits. Same-sex couples without legal recognition may also lack access to domestic violence services, as well as mediation and arbitration over custody and property when relationships end. Some regions have laws specifically excluding same-sex couples from particular rights such as adoption. In 2001, the Netherlands became the first country to recognize same-sex marriage . Since then same-sex marriages were subsequently recognized in Belgium (2003), Spain (2005), Canada (2005), South Africa (2006), Norway (2009), Sweden (2009), Portugal (2010), Iceland (2010), Argentina (2010), Denmark (2012), Brazil (2013), France (2013), Uruguay (2013), New Zealand (2013), Luxembourg (2015), Ireland (2015),

2322-445: A radical and grass-roots fight for the rights of LGBT+ people. It often expressed its attachment to anarchist ideas and skepticism towards mainstream politics. The collective initially organized a series of dance events in front of the stands of the Pro Foundation. They aroused interest in the public space, thanks to which the collective engaged in further activities; launched a website and a fanpage on Facebook , through which it denied

2451-424: A sex offender against male children have a preference for adult males; Frenzel and Lang (1989) also noticed a lack of androphiles in their phallometric analysis of 144 child sex offenders, which included 25 men who offended against underage boys. A study involving 21 adult sex offenders against boys found that two thirds of them had a sexual preference for women over men, as measured by the penile plethysmograph, with

2580-439: A sexual orientation. International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association "Promotion of homosexuality" is a group of behaviors believed by some gay-rights opponents to be carried out in the mass media , public places, etc. The term gay propaganda may be used by others to allege similar behaviors, especially in relation to false accusations of homosexual recruitment and an alleged " gay agenda ". In

2709-429: A shift in attitudes to 59% support among African Americans, 60% among Latinos and 50 percent among White Americans. Israelis were found to be the most accepting of homosexuality among Middle Eastern nations and Israeli laws and culture reflect that. According to a 2007 poll, a strong majority of Israeli Jews say they would accept a gay child and go on with life as usual. A 2013 Haaretz poll found that most of

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2838-519: A similar degree of hostility, discrimination, and violence relating to their sexual orientation as do homosexuals. Research (mainly conducted in the United States) show that people with more permissive attitudes on sexual orientation issues tend to be younger, well-educated, and politically liberal. Tolerance toward homosexuality and bisexuality have been increasing with time. A 2011 Public Policy Polling survey found that 48 percent of voters in

2967-416: A sin or perversion can believe that acceptance of homosexual parents and same-sex marriage will redefine and diminish the institutions of family and marriage. More generally, conservatives—by definition—prefer that institutions, traditions and values remain unchanged, and this has put many of them in opposition to efforts designed to increase the cultural acceptance and legal rights of homosexuals . In 1973,

3096-410: A supposedly tolerant societal view of homosexuality. Recent researches indicate that in the years since, the epidemic has spread and now has many more heterosexual victims than homosexual. Some people fear exposing their children to homosexuals in unsupervised settings because they believe the children might be molested, raped, or " recruited " to be homosexuals themselves. The publicity surrounding

3225-404: A survey of 882 people who were undergoing conversion therapy , attending " ex-gay " groups or "ex-gay" conferences, 22.9% reported they had not undergone any changes, 42.7% reported some changes, and 34.3% reported much change in sexual orientation. Many Western health and mental health professional organizations believe sexual orientation develops across a person's lifetime, but that this therapy

3354-438: A third of the country, informally declared themselves " LGBT-free zones ". However, on the 6th February 2024 Warsaw Voivodship Administrative Court repealed the last " LGBT-free zone " in Poland. Acceptance for LGBT people in Polish society increased in the 1990s and the early 2000s, mainly amongst younger people and those living in larger cities such as Warsaw and Kraków . There is a visible gay scene with clubs all around

3483-457: A traditional family ideology, and high levels of dogmatism and that: The strongest predictor of positive attitudes toward homosexuals was that the interviewee knew a gay man or lesbian. The correlation held across each demographic subset represented in the survey—sex, education level, age—bar one: political persuasion. An example of conservative views can also be found in the discussion of what conservatives call " homosexual recruitment ", within

3612-423: Is a term broadly used for people who are inclined to traditional values. While conservatism includes people of many views, a significant proportion of its adherents consider homosexuals, and especially the efforts of homosexuals to achieve certain rights and recognition, to be a threat to valued traditions, institutions and freedoms. Such attitudes are generally tied in with opposition to what some conservatives call

3741-587: Is an increase in the support for registered partnerships and same-sex marriage. Many left-wing and liberal political parties, namely the New Left , Labour Union , the Social Democratic Party , Modern , Together and Spring , have expressed support for the gay rights movement. Legalization of same-sex partnerships is also a part of political programme of Civic Coalition and the Third Way for

3870-502: Is disputed. Contemporary researchers have measured attitudes held by heterosexuals toward gay men and lesbians in a number of different ways. Certain populations are also found to accept homosexuality more than others. In the United States , African-Americans are generally less tolerant of homosexuality than European or Hispanic Americans. However, polls after President Barack Obama's public support of same-sex marriage showed

3999-414: Is distinct from, and not generally compatible with, intense sexual attraction to men." Johns Hopkins University psychiatrist Frederick Berlin , who runs a treatment program for offenders, says it is flawed to assume that men who molest young boys are attracted to adult men; Berlin defines attraction to children as a separate orientation of its own. Psychotherapist A. W. Richard Sipe also argues that

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4128-530: Is funding a campaign for "counteracting crimes related to the violation of freedom of conscience committed under the influence of LGBT ideology", which is meant to protect people who "suffer under the pressure of new leftist ideologies". As of 2019, a bill is pending in Parliament to provide penalty enhancements if a crime is motivated by the victim's gender, gender identity, age, disability or sexual orientation. Legal gender changes have been performed since

4257-451: Is illegal and transgender individual must first seek a legal change, since just a medical diagnosis from a doctor is not enough. A transgender individual must face a number of obstacles before having their legal gender changed, such as suing their parents. On the basis of offered further evidence (such as a medical diagnosis, medical records, witness/parental statements, etc.) a court may either pass sentence or refuse to do so. In July 2015,

4386-469: Is it punishable by death. Of the countries where homosexuality is illegal, only Lebanon has an internal effort to legalize it. Muslim-majority countries where homosexuality is not criminalized include Albania , Azerbaijan , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan , Turkey , Kosovo and others. As with social attitudes in general, religious attitudes towards homosexuality vary between and among religions and their adherents. Traditionalists among

4515-648: Is less central in people's lives. These are also among the richest countries in the world. In contrast, in poorer countries with high levels of religiosity, few believe homosexuality should be accepted by society. Age is also a factor in several countries, with younger respondents offering far more tolerant views than older ones. And while gender differences are not prevalent, in those countries where they are, women are consistently more accepting of homosexuality than men." Contemporary scholars caution against applying modern Western assumptions about sex and gender to other times and places; what looks like same-sex sexuality to

4644-519: Is not recognized, and Article 18 of the Constitution of Poland states that "Marriage, being a union of a man and a woman, as well as the family, motherhood and parenthood, shall be placed under the protection and care of the Republic of Poland." This has led to much debate over whether or not it is a definitive ban on same-sex marriage. A ruling in 2019 from an administrative court concluded that

4773-435: Is unnecessary, potentially harmful, and the effectiveness has not been rigorously and scientifically proven. Much attention was given to the dissent from this opinion by Robert Spitzer , but he later realized that his research was flawed and apologized for the damage it may have done. Another study refuting the claims of conversion therapy proponents was done in 2001 by Ariel Shidlo and Michael Schroeder, which showed only 3% of

4902-563: The American Psychiatric Association 's board of trustees voted to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Though some criticized this as a political decision, the social and political impetus for change was supported by scientific evidence. In fact, the research of Evelyn Hooker and other psychologists and psychiatrists helped to end

5031-452: The Arab and Haredi sector saw homosexuality negatively, while the majority of secular and traditional Jews say they support equal rights for gay couples. Much less research has been conducted into societal attitudes toward bisexuality . What studies do exist suggest that the attitude of heterosexuals toward bisexuals mirrors their attitude toward homosexuals, and that bisexuals experience

5160-517: The Bible is sometimes attributed to attempted homosexual rape, but this is disputed and differs from earlier beliefs. Early Jewish belief (and some Jews today) variously attributed the destruction to turning a blind eye to social injustice or lack of hospitality. Since the Middle Ages , sodomites were blamed for "bringing down the wrath of God " upon the land, and their pleasures blamed for

5289-588: The COVID-19 virus. In March 2021, the Polish government announced a new law that banned the adoption of children by same-sex couples. The law will also require authorities to vet candidates applying for adoption as a single parent to ensure that they are not cohabitating with someone of the same sex. Anti-discrimination provisions were added to the Labour Code ( Polish : Kodeks pracy ) in 2003. The Polish Constitution guarantees equality in accordance with

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5418-610: The Constitutional Tribunal ruled that the provision of Polish Petty Offence Code, which made it illegal to deny goods and services without "a just cause", was unconstitutional. Polish society tends to hold conservative views about issues dealing with LGBT rights. A majority of the Polish population is affiliated with the Catholic Church , and as such, public perception and acceptance of the LGBT community are strongly influenced by Catholic moral doctrines. Article 18 of

5547-557: The European Court of Human Rights ruled, in the case of Kozak v. Poland , that LGBT people have the right to inherit from their partners. Same-sex couples are unable to legally adopt in Poland. Furthermore, lesbian couples do not have access to IVF . In October 2018, the Supreme Administrative Court ruled that a lesbian couple may register their 4-year-old boy as their child. Polish media described

5676-529: The European Union  (light green)  –  [ Legend ] Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Poland face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. According to ILGA-Europe 's 2024 report, the status of LGBTQ rights in Poland is the worst among the European Union countries. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity were decriminalized in 1932, when

5805-633: The LGBT movement as "a foreign ideology" and comparing it to indoctrination in the Soviet Union . In November 2023, a Polish same-sex married couple (wed by Germany's marriage law ) asked Poland's top court to overturn the nation's ban on same-sex marriage. On 23 February 2007, the Appeals Court in Białystok recognized a same-sex cohabitation. On 6 December 2007, this ruling was confirmed by

5934-532: The Modern party. In June 2018, the European Court of Justice ruled that EU members states must grant married same-sex couples, where at least one partner is an EU citizen, full residency rights and recognise their freedom of movement . Poland did not implement this ruling, and in July 2020, the European Court of Human Rights notified the Polish government of cases filed by Polish same-sex couples, inviting

6063-644: The Polish Constitution states that "Marriage, as a union of a man and a woman, shall be placed under the protection and care of the Republic of Poland." According to several jurists, this article bans same-sex marriage. The Supreme Court, the Constitutional Tribunal and the Supreme Administrative Court have ruled that Article 18 of the Constitution limits the institution of marriage to opposite-sex couples, and that

6192-701: The Presidential Palace in Warsaw, entitled "A provocation of LGBT ideology", which was supposed to be a response to the statement of President Andrzej Duda , who said during a rally in Brzeg that LGBT people are not people, but ideology. One of the goals of the Pro Foundation is to limit the right to perform abortion . Its attitude is popularized by, among others by showing pictures of dead children and fetuses in public spaces. The organization does this most often by displaying banners, placing posters on billboards, as well as trucks with photos driving around

6321-714: The Roman Catholic sex abuse cases has heightened these concerns. Many organizations focus on these concerns, drawing connections between homosexuality and pedophilia. According to the John Jay Report , a study commissioned by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops under the auspices of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and an all-lay review board headed by Illinois Appellate Court Justice Anne M. Burke, "81% of

6450-485: The Sejm voted to reject five proposed bills that would have introduced civil partnerships for both opposite-sex and same-sex couples. The High Court later issued an opinion stating that the bills proposed by the Democratic Left Alliance , Your Movement and Civic Platform were all unconstitutional, as Article 18 of the Constitution protects marriage. In December 2014, the Sejm refused to deal with

6579-650: The pseudoscientific practice. The MPs plan to introduce the bill to the Polish Parliament where it will have its first reading in the upcoming months. Such a ban would implement the recommendation of the European Parliament and United Nations Independent Expert on Protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity . In August 2020, the Polish Episcopal Conference released

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6708-759: The " homosexual agenda ". The finding that attitudes to alternative sexualities correlate strongly with nature of contact and with personal beliefs is stated in a variety of research over a substantial time period, and conservative men and women stand out in their views specifically. Thus Herek, who established the Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men Scale in psychology, states: The ATLG and its subscales are consistently correlated with other theoretically relevant constructs. Higher scores (more negative attitudes) correlate significantly with high religiosity, lack of contact with gay men and lesbians, adherence to traditional sex-role attitudes, belief in

6837-498: The 195 countries of the world. Homosexual sex acts may be illegal, especially under sodomy laws , and where they are legal, the age of consent often differs from country to country. In some cases, homosexuals are prosecuted under vaguely worded "public decency" or morality laws. Some countries have special laws preventing certain public expressions of homosexuality. Nations or subnational entities may have anti-discrimination legislation in place to protect against discrimination on

6966-566: The 1960s. Transgender people seeking to change their legal gender must receive a medical diagnosis. Only after the legal gender has been changed does a transgender individual gain the right to undergo sex reassignment surgery. The reason for this is because any surgery resulting in infertility is prohibited by Polish law (as stated in Polish Penal Code: Kodeks Karny art. 156 §1), with a few exceptions in cases such as uterine cancer or myoma. That is, castration on request

7095-570: The 1990s, lesbian, gay and bisexual people are not banned from military service and discrimination against them is officially forbidden. However, there is an unwritten rule of " don't ask, don't tell " and most gay Polish soldiers conceal their sexual orientation. In 2013, military personnel told NaTemat.pl portal that openly gay personnel would face social difficulty, especially for higher ranks, as for "commanding staff - officers and high-ranking NCOs - admitting to same-sex attraction would mean losing respect - qualities without which you simply cannot be

7224-509: The 2005 general election, however. The major opposition to introducing same-sex marriages or civil unions comes from the Roman Catholic Church, which is influential politically, holding a considerable degree of influence in the state. The Church also enjoys immense social prestige. The Church holds that homosexuality is a deviation. In 2012, the nation was 95% Roman Catholic, with 54% practicing every week. In January 2013,

7353-576: The 2023 parliamentary elections. In November 2023, a same-sex married couple issued Polish courts to rectify the legality of same-sex marriages. During the Partitions of Poland (1795–1918) and the German occupation of Poland (1939–1945), laws prohibiting homosexuality were imposed on the territory that makes up the current Polish state. Following World War I , same-sex activity continued to be formally criminalized in now-independent Poland, because

7482-531: The EU member states surveyed, only Latvia and Greece had higher levels of opposition. A poll in July 2009 showed that 87% of Poles were against gay adoption. A poll from 23 December 2009 for Newsweek Poland reported another shift towards more positive attitudes. Sixty percent of respondents stated that they would have no objections to having an openly gay minister or a head of government. A 2008 study revealed that 66% of Poles believed that gay people should not have

7611-565: The LGBT community in this country shouldn't judge us [...] And nobody should be surprised if we are eventually forced to take things into our own hands." While detained, Szutowicz went on a hunger strike and requested a New Testament , later stating that Christianity is too serious a matter to be left in Polish Catholics ' hands. Margot also stated that she is a Christian. The collective started its activity in May 2019, in opposition to

7740-582: The Polish Sejm approved a transgender recognition bill. Under the bill, transgender people would have been able to change gender without any physical interventions, but would have required statements from mental health experts that they are suffering from gender dysphoria . The bill was approved 252 to 158. The Senate proceeded to approve the bill in August, but President Andrzej Duda vetoed it in October. The Parliament failed to override his veto. Since

7869-583: The Polish Supreme Court ruled that a Łódź printer acted illegally when he refused to print banners for an LGBT business group. The court argued that the principle of equality meant the printer did not have the right to withhold services from the business. The court also ruled that sexual orientation, race or other features of a person cannot be the basis for refusal to offer a service, but that freedom of conscience and religion must also be taken into account. The Campaign Against Homophobia welcomed

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7998-477: The Polish government to present its position on the issue (Andersen v. Poland). During Polish re-elections in September 2023, Donald Tusk proposed recognition for same-sex civil partnerships. Opposition parties won most seats in the parliament and senate, giving hope to the LGBT community that the bill might be approved. But some analysts say that even if the bill is passed, it may still get vetoed by conservative president Andrzej Duda , who previously described

8127-620: The Supreme Court of Warsaw . While Poland possesses no specific law on cohabitation, it does have a few provisions in different legal acts or Supreme Court rulings that recognise relations between unmarried partners and provides said partners specific rights and obligations. For example, Article 115(11) of the Penal Code ( Polish : Kodeks karny ) uses the term "the closest person", which covers romantic relations that are not legally formalised. The status of "the closest person" gives

8256-547: The United Kingdom, Section 28 of the 1988 Local Government Act banned "promotion of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship" by local government employees in the course of their duties. The act was aimed to prevent the "promotion of homosexuality" in schools. Prosecutions increased following the act. Section 28 was later repealed in Scotland on 21 June 2000 as one of the first pieces of legislation enacted by

8385-479: The United States (2015), Colombia (2016), Finland (2017), Germany (2017), Australia (2017), Austria (2019), Taiwan (2019), Ecuador (2019), United Kingdom (2020), Costa Rica (2020), Chile (2022), Switzerland (2022), Slovenia (2022), Cuba (2022), Mexico (2022) and Andorra (2023). Israel , legally recognizes same-sex marriages, but does not allow such marriages to be performed within

8514-599: The United States) have found that heterosexuals with positive attitudes towards homosexuality are more likely to be female, white, young, non-religious, well-educated, politically liberal or moderate, and have close personal contact with homosexuals who are out . They are also more likely to have positive attitudes towards other minority groups and are less likely to support traditional gender roles. Several studies have also suggested that heterosexual females' attitudes towards gay men are similar to those towards lesbians, and some (but not all) have found that heterosexual males have

8643-660: The West, enjoyed a degree of acceptance in around three-quarters of the cultures surveyed in Patterns of Sexual Behavior (1951). From the 1970s, academics have researched attitudes held by individuals toward lesbians, gay men and bisexuals, and the social and cultural factors that underlie such attitudes. Numerous studies have investigated the prevalence of acceptance and disapproval of homosexuality, and have consistently found correlates with various demographic, psychological, and social variables. For example, studies (mainly conducted in

8772-464: The activity of the Pro Foundation  [ pl ] , whose volunteers collected signatures under the civic legislative initiative Stop Pedophilia Act , for which the collective is named. The draft act assumed increased penalties for pedophilic acts, but also, under the pretext of counteracting these acts, penalized sex education . The impulse for an organized action, and at the same time

8901-417: The applicant's qualifications, but one resume for each opening mentioned that the applicant had been part of a gay organization in college. The results showed that applicants without the gay signal had an 11.5 percent chance of being called for an interview; openly gay applicants had only a 7.2 percent chance. The callback gap varied widely according to the location of the job. Most of the overall gap detected in

9030-683: The basis of sexual orientation in the workplace, housing, health services and education. Some give exemptions, allowing employers to discriminate if they are a religious organisation, or if the employee works with children. Legal recognition of same-sex relationships also varies greatly. Legal privileges pertaining to different-sex relationships that may be extended to same-sex couples include parenting, adoption and access to reproductive technologies ; immigration ; spousal benefits for employees such as pensions, health funds and other services; family leave; medical rights, including hospital visitation, notification and power of attorney ; inheritance when

9159-501: The case as "the first of its kind in Poland". In July 2020 the President of Poland formally proposed an amendment to the Constitution that would ban adoption by a person in a same-sex relationship. In November 2020 a law was proposed to only allow married couples to adopt. This would make it impossible for same-sex couples to adopt, due to same-sex marriage not being allowed in Poland. Demonstrations were unable to be held, due to

9288-465: The city. These actions, organized in various Polish cities, aroused much controversy and were also directly attacked. After launching the "Stop Pedophilia" campaign, the Foundation started putting vans with banners on the roads, with slogans about alleged links between homosexuality and pedophilia , as well as opposing sex education . The Stop Bzdurom collective expressed its firm opposition to

9417-473: The complaint of the District Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw against the court's earlier decision not to arrest and ordered Małgorzata Szutowicz to be detained for 2 months. The grounds for the decision were initially classified by the prosecutor's office, but were eventually disclosed. The reasons were given as "fear of fleeing or hiding", "high probability of committing the alleged act", as well as

9546-744: The country introduced an equal age of consent for homosexuals and heterosexuals, which was set at 15. Poland provides LGBT people with the same rights as heterosexuals in certain areas: gay and bisexual men are allowed to donate blood, gays and bisexuals are allowed to serve openly in the Polish Armed Forces , and transgender people are allowed to change their legal gender following certain requirements, which include undergoing hormone replacement therapy . Polish law bans employment discrimination based on sexual orientation , although such protections may not be effective in practice. No protections for health services and hate crimes exist. In 2019,

9675-597: The country" and that "Poland's legal system falls dangerously short when it comes to protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people and other minority groups from hate crimes". Between 2015 and 2020, the Polish government has worked to reduce the effectiveness of the anti-discriminatory protections granted to LGBT people under EU law. Examining recent anti-discrimination cases, legal scholar Marcin Górski found that "the principle of equal treatment in Poland appears generally ineffective". In June 2018,

9804-492: The country, most of them located in large urban areas. There are also several gay rights organizations, the two biggest ones being the Campaign Against Homophobia and Lambda Warszawa . Opinion polls on the public perception of LGBTQ rights in Poland have been contradictory, with many showing large support for registered partnerships, and some indicating a majority of opponents. The general trend however

9933-768: The country. On the other end of the spectrum, several countries impose the death penalty for homosexual acts, per the application of some interpretations of Shari'a law . As of 2022, these include Afghanistan , Mauritania , Iran , Saudi Arabia , Yemen and northern Nigeria . In Saudi Arabia, the maximum punishment for homosexuality is public execution. However, the government will use other punishments – e.g., fines, jail time, and whipping  – as alternatives, unless it feels that homosexuals are challenging state authority by engaging in LGBT social movements . Most international human rights organizations, such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International , condemn laws that make homosexual relations between consenting adults

10062-497: The early 1920s and represented the success of long-lasting transnational advocacy. Homosexual prostitution remained illegal. According to lawyer Monika Płatek , these provisions were applied very broadly to homosexual couples to prevent them living together; any type of gift or paying for a partner's food, clothing, or lodging could be interpreted as prostitution. In 1948 during the Polish People's Republic , age of consent

10191-430: The events, police actions were criticized as being too brutal and also far exceeding the required minimum. The Ombudsman , Adam Bodnar , referred to the case, noting that the police caught random people on the street and then arrested them. The Polish authorities have been accused in many media of using the police repressive apparatus to persecute sexual minorities . In response to allegations of brutality, on August 10,

10320-562: The fear of "taking unlawful actions influencing the course of the proceedings". The decision was negatively addressed by, inter alia, the Council of Europe 's Human Rights Commissioner – Dunja Mijatović and the President of Court Watch Polska – Bartosz Pilitowski. During the next arrest of Małgorzata Szutowicz, which took place in front of the Campaign Against Homophobia , there were protests , during which 48 people were arrested. After

10449-412: The form of anti-LGBT discrimination , opposition to LGBT rights , anti-LGBT hate speech , and violence against LGBT people . Since the 1970s, much of the world has become more accepting of homosexual acts and relationships. Cross-national differences in acceptance can be explained by three factors: the strength of democratic institutions, the level of economic development, and the religious context of

10578-480: The hanging of the flag on the statue of Jesus Christ at the Holy Cross Church in Warsaw. The case was discussed in nationwide media, and conservative circles accused the people participating in the action of profanation . Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki also reacted to the event by lighting a candle at the statue of Jesus Christ on July 29 and commenting on the event with the words: "We will not make

10707-412: The information provided by the Pro Foundation. Leaflets explaining what sex education is and explaining some of the terms related to it were also printed and distributed. The collective was involved in many other educational and support activities for the LGBT community in Poland. In June 2020, during the election campaign preceding the presidential election , the collective organized an event in front of

10836-521: The language in Article 18 does not explicitly ban same-sex marriage. The justification of the ruling regarding the meaning of Article 18 is not binding. The sentence is binding only on the parties in the proceedings. Earlier judgments of the Supreme Court , the Constitutional Tribunal and the Supreme Administrative Court have found the Constitution bans same-sex marriage by defining marriage as

10965-414: The larger, "heterosexual" subgroup targeting younger boys than the "homosexual" group. A more recent survey, which asked self-identified pedophiles in online communities to rate their sexual attraction to males and females from age 1 to age 18, found that those men disclosed very low levels of attraction towards more mature males, with the authors concluding that, "[i]ntense sexual attraction to male children

11094-531: The law and prohibits discrimination based on "any reason". The proposal to include a prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation in the Constitution was rejected in 1995, after strong Catholic Church objections. In 2007, an anti-discrimination law was under preparation by the Ministry of Labour that would prohibit discrimination on different grounds, including sexual orientation, not only in work and employment, but also in social security and social protection, health care, and education, although

11223-520: The law in a way that recognised the surviving partner as authorised to take over the right to tenancy. The Court stated that the person actually remaining in cohabitation with the tenant - in the meaning of Article 691 § 1 of the Civil Code - is a person connected with the tenant by a bond of emotional, physical and economic nature. This also includes a person of the same sex. Previously, in March 2010,

11352-456: The leaders of Stop Bzdurom dissolved it since they no longer wanted to work as a public group. In an interview, Małgorzata Szutowicz said that having a public position with the media was not helpful for reaching her goals and that she was now working in the background to support other groups. LGBT rights in Poland – in Europe  (light green & dark grey) – in

11481-559: The legalization of same-sex marriage would require a constitutional amendment. Poland does not recognise civil unions either, though discussion on this issue is ongoing. While ahead of the 2015 Polish parliamentary election , the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party had taken an anti-migrant stance, and in the run-up to the 2019 Polish parliamentary election , PiS focused on countering alleged Western "LGBT ideology". Encouraged by national PiS politicians, by April 2020 , 100 municipalities (including five voivodships ), encompassing about

11610-438: The main problem was pedophilia or ephebophilia , not sexual orientation and said that some men who are married to adult women are attracted to adolescent males. Small-scale studies by Carole Jenny, A.W. Richard Sipe, and others have not found evidence that homosexuals are more likely to molest children than heterosexuals. Based on the responses of a sample of thousands of admitted child molesters, one study found that 70% of

11739-413: The majority of priests who abused male victims are gay. Though "the majority of the abusive acts were homosexual in nature ... participation in homosexual acts is not the same as sexual identity as a gay man." Psychology professor Gregory Herek also analyzed a number of studies and found no relationship between sexual orientation and molestation. One of her fellow researchers, Louis Schlesinger, argued that

11868-462: The mandatory pre-donation questionaries. The proposal was quickly rejected by the Institute of Hematology and Transfusion Medicine. According to Gregory E. Czarnecki, there are some similarities between antisemitism and homophobia in Polish nationalist discourse, especially that both groups are seen as deviant and diseased as well as a threat to the nation. A survey from 2005 found that 89% of

11997-456: The methods used by the foundation. Already in 2019, people associated with the collective had destroyed one of the anti-abortion vans. In June 2020, there were posts on the collective's Facebook profile regarding the stoppage of trucks of the Pro Foundation, as well as the painting over their license plates and tarpaulins. On June 27, at Wilcza Street in Warsaw (near the Syrena squat ), one of

12126-490: The mistakes of the West . Tolerance towards barbarity leads to this." On August 6, after being sworn in for another term, Andrzej Duda laid flowers at the monument. In the days following the hanging of flags on Warsaw's monuments, the Warsaw Police Headquarters arrested three people associated with the action, including members of the Stop Bzdurom collective. The manner in which Małgorzata Szutowicz

12255-654: The notion that homosexuality was in and of itself a mental illness. Homosexuality in and of itself was removed from the DSM in 1974, but a diagnosis of distress related to one's sexual orientation remained in the manual until 2013 ( DSM-5 ). In parallel fashion, the World Health Organization removed homosexuality from the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) in the tenth edition of that manual in 1992 ( ICD-10 ), but retained

12384-479: The participants claiming to have completely changed their orientation from gay to straight. In many non-Western post-colonial countries, homosexual orientation is still considered to be a mental disorder and illness. In Muslim areas, this position is ascribed to the earlier adoption of European Victorian attitudes by the westernized elite, in areas where previously native traditions embraced same-sex relations. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as takes place in

12513-682: The penal codes of the Russian Empire , the Kingdom of Prussia and the Austria-Hungarian Empire remained in power. They mostly criminalized male same-sex acts, though the Austrian code included broader provisions against so-called "same-sex fornication" and was also used against women. The new Polish Penal Code of 1932 ( Kodeks karny ) decriminalized consensual same-sex acts. The decision had already been taken in

12642-454: The periodic epidemics of disease which decimated the population. This "pollution" was thought to be cleansed by fire, as a result of which countless individuals were burned at the stake or run through with white-hot iron rods. Since the end of the 1980s similar accusations have been made, inspired by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, with preachers such as Jerry Falwell blaming both the victim and

12771-711: The places where people live. The Pew Research Center 's 2013 Global Attitudes Survey "finds broad acceptance of homosexuality in North America, the European Union, and much of Latin America, but equally widespread rejection in predominantly Muslim nations and in Africa, as well as in parts of Asia and in Russia". The survey also finds "acceptance of homosexuality is particularly widespread in countries where religion

12900-501: The police released videos of the protesters' behavior. After the events related to the arrest of Małgorzata Szutowicz, solidarity actions were organized all over Poland and abroad. Demonstration in Warsaw at the Parade Square gathered several thousand people. The foreign media also spoke about the whole case. An open letter was also sent to the Polish authorities, demanding that Małgorzata Szutowicz be released from custody and that

13029-545: The population considered homosexuality an unnatural activity. Nevertheless, half believed homosexuality should be tolerated. An opinion poll conducted in late 2006 at the request of the European Commission indicated that Polish public opinion was overwhelmingly opposed to same-sex marriage and to adoption by same-sex couples. A 2006 Eurobarometer poll found that 74% and 89% of Poles respectively were opposed to same-sex marriage and adoption by same-sex couples. Of

13158-418: The presumption of permanence, and a 'friendship for life oath' that included vows never to separate, to defend and support each other, and to maintain the confidentiality of their relationship. This discovery marks a significant milestone in Poland's LGBTQ+ history, offering insights into the complexities of same-sex relationships in earlier times. A civil union bill was first proposed in 2003. In 2004, under

13287-458: The process of redefining the family, demanding not only 'tolerance' ... but 'acceptance', and ultimately seeking to marginalize, censor, and punish those individuals who stand in the way of their multiple goals. As this statement illustrates, those who believe that a disapproving attitude toward homosexuality is a tenet of their religion can see efforts to abolish such attitudes as an attack on their religious freedom. Those who regard homosexuality as

13416-475: The provision of and access to goods and services would only be subject to a prohibition of discrimination on grounds of race or ethnic origin. On 1 January 2011, a new law on equal treatment entered into force. It prohibits sexual orientation discrimination in employment only. In September 2015, Amnesty International concluded that "the LGBTI community in Poland faces widespread and ingrained discrimination across

13545-482: The provision was incompatible with the Polish Constitution. In July 2020 the government of Poland sued IKEA for firing an employee for severe homophobic remarks he made on the company's internal website. Poland's justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro called the dismissal, which was made in accordance with Poland's anti-discrimination laws, "absolutely scandalous". The Polish ministry of Justice

13674-410: The reported victims of child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy were boys." The review board went on to conclude that, "the crisis was characterized by homosexual behavior", and in light of this, "the current crisis cannot be addressed without consideration of issues related to homosexuality." According to Margaret Smith, one of John Jay's researchers, however, it is "an unwarranted conclusion" to assert that

13803-452: The resignation of the chairman Piotr Jedliński. On 4 September 2020, Margot was released from imprisonment after a successful legal appeal. Following her release, she posted a photograph holding up her middle finger and holding a scrabble sign saying "Poland, you preek [sic], stop arresting my Margot". On 7 September 2020, a protest in support of Margot was held in front of the martyrdom monument at Old Market square, Bydgoszcz . In mid-2021,

13932-420: The right of refusal to testify against the partner. The term "partner" includes same-sex couples. A resolution of the Supreme Court from 28 November 2012 ( III CZP 65/12 ) on the interpretation of the term "a person who has lived actually in cohabitation with the tenant" was issued with regard to the case of a gay man who was the partner of a deceased person, the main tenant of the apartment. The Court interpreted

14061-446: The right to organize public demonstrations, 69% of Poles believed that gay people should not have the right to show their way of life. Also, 37% of Poles believed that gay people should have the right to engage in sexual activity, with 37% believing they should not. In 2010, an IIBR opinion poll conducted for Newsweek Poland found that 43% of Poles agreed that openly gay people should be banned from military service. 38% thought that such

14190-621: The rights of LGBT persons be guaranteed. The letter was signed by several hundred scholars from around the world, including: Natalia Aleksiun , Maurice Aymard , Daniel Beauvois , Judith Butler , Noam Chomsky , Natalie Zemon Davis and Galit Hasan-Rokem . There was also a letter signed by people of culture (signed, among others, by Pedro Almodóvar , Margaret Atwood , Richard Flanagan , Ed Harris , Slavoj Žižek and Olga Tokarczuk ), as well as persons supporting Margot (including Adam Boniecki , Maja Komorowska , Michael Schudrich , Paula Sawicka , Alfred Wierzbicki and Jacek Jassem ). Margot

14319-536: The ruling, but it was condemned by Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro who called the ruling "against freedom" and "state violence in service of the ideology of homosexual activists". Ziobro filed a case with the Constitutional Tribunal to recognize the provision on the basis of which the printer was convicted as unconstitutional. On 26 June 2019, the Tribunal issued a judgment in which it found that

14448-726: The same sex and teach that such behaviour is sinful. Religious authorities point to passages in the Qur'an , the Old Testament and the New Testament for scriptural justification of these beliefs. Among the Sinic religions of East Asia , including Confucianism , Chinese folk religion and Taoism , passionate homosexual expression is usually discouraged because it is believed to not lead to human fulfillment. In some capitalist countries, large private sector firms often lead

14577-536: The semen of older males to aid in their maturation, it is disputed whether this is best understood as a sexual act at all. Some scholars have argued that notions of a homosexual and heterosexual identity, as they are currently known in the Western world, only began to emerge in Europe in the mid to late 19th century, though others challenge this. Behaviors that today would be widely regarded as homosexual, at least in

14706-722: The sex offenders who targeted boys rated themselves as predominantly or exclusively heterosexual in adult orientation on the Kinsey scale , and only 8% as exclusively homosexual. Phallometric testing on community males shows that men with a preference for adult males (often called " androphiles " in these studies) are no more attracted to adolescent or younger boys than are men with a preference for adult females (or " gynephiles "). Conversely, sex offenders targeting boys—especially prepubescent boys—may be heterosexual, while others lack attraction to adults of either sex. Kurt Freund , analyzing sex offender samples, concluded that only rarely does

14835-423: The sexual deprivation that occurs in the priesthood could lead one to turn to children and that boys are more accessible to priests and other male authority figures than girls. A study by A. Nicholas Groth found that nearly half of the child sex offenders in his small sample were exclusively attracted to children. The other half regressed to children after finding trouble in adult relationships. No one in his sample

14964-534: The state of Delaware supported the legalization of same-sex marriage, while 47 were opposed and 5 percent were not sure. A 2011 poll by Lake Research Partners showed that 62% in Delaware favored allowing same-sex couples to form civil unions, while 31% were opposed, and 7% were not sure. [REDACTED] Malaysia The legal status of homosexuality varies greatly around the world. Homosexual acts between consenting adults are known to be illegal in about 70 out of

15093-612: The study was driven by the Southern and Midwestern states in the sample—Texas, Florida, and Ohio. The Western and Northeastern states in the sample (California, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and New York) had only small and statistically insignificant callback gaps. In the Western world , in particular the United States and the United Kingdom , the corporatisation of LGBT pride parades has been criticised by some. Conservatism

15222-515: The vans was detained and then destroyed by a group of people. During the incident, Małgorzata Szutowicz was alleged to have attacked the driver of the vehicle. The fragment of the recording of the incident, published by the foundation, shows that Łania Madej also participated in the event. Margot told the BBC that she only attempted to stop the truck driver from filming her with his mobile phone and did not assault him: "I wish I could have beat him up – but he

15351-687: The way in the equal treatment of gay men and lesbians. For instance, more than half of the Fortune 500 offer domestic partnership benefits and 49 of the Fortune 50 companies include sexual orientation in their non-discrimination policies (only ExxonMobil does not). At the same time, studies show that many private firms engage in significant employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. In one study, for example, two fictitious but realistic resumes were sent to roughly 1,700 entry-level job openings. The two resumes were very similar in terms of

15480-558: The world's cultures have, in the past, considered procreative sex within a recognized relationship to be a sexual norm—sometimes exclusively so, and sometimes alongside norms of same-sex love, whether passionate, intimate or sexual. Some sects within some religions , especially those influenced by the Abrahamic tradition , have censured homosexual acts and relationships at various times, in some cases implementing severe punishments. Homophobic attitudes in society can manifest themselves in

15609-583: The world's major religions generally disapprove of homosexuality, and prominent opponents of social acceptance of homosexuality often cite religious arguments to support their views. Liberal currents also exist within most religions, and modern lesbian and gay scholars of religion sometimes point to a place for homosexuality among historical traditions and scriptures , and emphasise religious teachings of compassion and love. Abrahamic religions such as Judaism , Islam , and various denominations of Christianity traditionally forbid sexual relations between people of

15738-503: Was a struggle between passers-by and members of the Foundation and the police. Several people were arrested at that time, including Małgorzata Szutowicz. After the events in the center of Warsaw, Łania Madej and Małgorzata Szutowicz decided to set up the Stop Bzdurom collective. Initially, its aim was to oppose the activities of the Pro Foundation, as well as to create more theories about anti-LGBT rhetoric , and fight against disinformation regarding sex education. The collective advocated

15867-515: Was also an ideological proclamation next to each one, and on some of them pink scarves with the symbol of queer anarchism were hung. The monuments with flags were the monuments of Józef Piłsudski , Nicolaus Copernicus , Jesus Christ , Wincenty Witos , and the Mermaids . The action generated discourse on the Internet almost immediately. It also caused a lot of controversy, especially related to

15996-470: Was arrested, who was detained by plainclothes officers in the middle of the day on the street, was particularly criticized. These actions were carried out at the request of the Deputy Minister of Justice Sebastian Kaleta , who applied to the prosecutor's office for insulting religious feelings and insulting Warsaw monuments. The activists were released soon, but on August 7, the Warsaw court examined

16125-485: Was led out of the apartment without shoes and not informed of her whereabouts. On the following day, the District Court for Warsaw-Mokotów rejected the prosecutor's request for a 2-month detention of Małgorzata Szutowicz. On the night of July 28–29, the Stop Bzdurom , Gang Samzamęt and Poetka collectives organized a civil disobedience campaign involving the display of rainbow flags on Warsaw monuments. There

16254-431: Was misgendered by Polish police and right-wing politicians. Zuzanna "Łania" Madej (Szutowicz's partner) said that using Szutowicz's masculine name is not offensive. Some media outlets, such as Onet.pl and Radio Nowy Świat  [ pl ] , also used Szutowicz's masculine deadname . The latter started using Margot's preferred name after backlash and threats of having its donations cut off by supporters. It also led to

16383-480: Was primarily attracted to same-sex adults. The empirical research shows that sexual orientation does not affect the likelihood that people will abuse children. Many child molesters cannot be characterized as having an adult sexual orientation at all; they are fixated on children. Lawmakers and social commentators have sometimes expressed a concern that normalizing homosexuality would also lead to normalizing pedophilia, if it were determined that pedophilia too were

16512-445: Was set to 15, equal to that of heterosexual partners. Homosexual prostitution was legalized in 1969. Homosexuality was removed from the list of diseases in 1991. There is no legal recognition of same-sex couples in Poland, though cohabiting same-sex couples do enjoy certain limited benefits, namely in the tenancy of a shared household, the right not to testify against the partner and residency rights under EU law. Same-sex marriage

16641-400: Was three or four times larger than me." On the morning of July 14, the police in civilian clothes entered the apartment where Małgorzata Szutowicz was staying. According to the reports of those present at the scene, the officers first threatened to force the door open, and after opening it, they did not give the reason for the attack and did not allow their date to be written down. The activist

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