Municipal officials in Łańcut, Poland, have abolished the last “LGBT Ideology Free” zone in the country. This marks an end to more than five years of political actions against LGBT individuals in Poland.
From 2019 to 2024, during the rule of the right-wing Law and Justice party, many provinces and towns adopted discriminatory “family charters.” These charters aimed to “protect children from moral corruption” or declared themselves free from “LGBT ideology.” Authorities across one-third of Poland embraced these resolutions after they became a central theme in the party’s 2019 electoral campaign. The resolutions discouraged tolerance towards LGBT people and cut funding for organizations promoting nondiscrimination and gender equality.
Although not legally enforceable, activists informed Human Rights Watch that these zones attempted to stigmatize and exclude LGBT people. They communicated that LGBT individuals were unwelcome. A gay man from eastern Poland shared his experience with Human Rights Watch: “In 2020, one of my good friends who had never before had an issue with my sexual orientation suddenly accused me of being ‘an ideology.’”
Polish courts resisted these zones by supporting activists’ rights to document and critique them. Over time, authorities began repealing the zones.
The situation in Poland serves as a lesson for Europe amidst rising right-wing populism and hostility towards concepts like “gender” and “genderism.” Opponents use terms like “gender ideology” to restrict sexual and reproductive rights and LGBT equality by exploiting fears of social change.
“Gender ideology” is often used as a vague term to attack various social issues including feminism, trans rights, intersex recognition, family law reform, same-sex marriage, abortion access, contraception, and sexuality education.
The removal of Poland’s final “LGBT free” zone highlights the significant harm such symbolic policies can cause. It is a reminder that should resonate globally.
