Majority of people in Poland back LGBT+ rights, survey indicates

A majority of people in Poland sustain same-sex marriage and LGBT+ families, new research indicates.

The survey results came as ILGA-Europe’s 2021 report declared LGBT+ rights in Poland to be the worst among EU countries. 

The research was carried out by Miłość Nie Wyklucza (Love Does Not Exclude), an organisation committed to introducing marriage equality in Poland.

It found 56 per cent of respondents believe that same-sex couples should be able to get married to ensure the safety of their children, and that 65 per cent agree that “a biological parent raising a child with a same-sex partner” fits the definition of a family, Gazeta Wyborcza reported.

Fifty-eight per cent of respondents said that a same-sex associate is a family already if they do not have any children.

Although same-sex couples are unable to adopt or undergo IVF in Poland, 65 per cent of respondents to the survey said that if they were sure that children raised by same-sex couples would develop equally well as their peers raised by heterosexual couples, they would have nothing against such families.

The survey’s results, announced by Hubert Sobecki of Love Does Not Exclude, demonstrates that Polish attitudes towards LGBT+ people are slightly more accepting than the country’s government, which has received criticism for a string of anti-LGBT+ bills.

Polish activists are currently pushing back against a bill intended to ban Pride parades, and stop the “promotion” of LGBT lives.

The parliamentary argue on the bill on 29 October quickly turned heated, with Krzysztof Kasprzak, one of the initiators, comparing the LGBT+ community to Nazis, and accusing it of seeking “to overthrow the natural order and introduce terror”.

Włodzimierz Czarzasty, a left-wing deputy speaker of parliament, called it the “most disgusting speech” he had heard in his time as a lawmaker.

In July 2020, Andrzej Duda was re-elected as president of Poland after a tumultuous campaign in which he repeatedly targeted the LGBT+ community, promising to “prohibit the propagation of this ideology” in public institutions.

His term has seen several areas in Poland declaring themselves an “LGBT-free zone”.

Some regions are now repealing the designation after the EU threatened to cut funding to the areas, with the rural area of Swietokrzyskie voting to abolish its anti-LGBT+ resolution in September.

At the special regional assembly, 25 councillors in Swietokrzyskie passed a new resolution stating that Poland’s constitution guarantees parents the right to raise their children consistent with their beliefs and views. But it stated the constitution also ensures a “guarantee of equality and fair treatment for all”.

LGBT+ activist Bart Staszewski said it was a “great day for Poland and great success of activists and civil society”, the Associated Press reported.