Thousands Attend Politically Charged LGBT Pride Event in Warsaw
On Saturday, June 17, thousands of people took to the streets of Warsaw to participate in a demonstration advocating for LGBT rights. Anticipating potential opposition from Poland's ruling party, which has a conservative agenda and often employs anti-LGBT rhetoric to mobilize its conservative voter base, the organizers proactively outlined their agenda. It is expected that the ruling party, Law and Justice (PiS), will once again exploit this issue ahead of the upcoming autumn elections, as reported by Deutsche Welle.
June is globally recognized as Pride Month, during which people around the world come out to support the LGBTQ+ community. However, Poland remains one of the least accepting countries for this community within Europe.
According to a report published by the European branch of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) in May 2023, Poland ranked last in terms of marriage and adoption equality for same-sex couples, gender identity recognition, legal gender recognition, and measures against hate crimes. The situation has worsened since 2015 when the right-wing conservative PiS came to power.
Nevertheless, Polish LGBTQ+ activists remain hopeful that the situation can change. Alicja Gierda, speaking to Reuters news agency, expressed her confidence, stating, "Despite the narrative against our community, I am not very worried because we are a strong community, and it will not be easy to stop us from holding our pride marches. It is normal to be who we are."
In the upcoming Polish elections scheduled for autumn, the ruling party, Law and Justice (PiS), aims to secure its third consecutive term following its victories in 2014 and 2019.
PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński has frequently criticized the LGBTQ+ community, stating in May, "Children should not be subjected to practices that are undoubtedly harmful to them and can lead to psychological changes that will negatively impact them in adulthood," in reference to school curricula.
After their victory in 2019, several municipalities in Poland declared themselves "LGBT ideology-free zones," while PiS leaders claimed to promote traditional family values. However, these so-called zones were abolished following intervention from Brussels.
Same-sex relationships are not legislatively recognized in Poland, and it is already prohibited for same-sex couples to adopt children.
The ruling conservative nationalist party in Poland, Law and Justice (PiS), argues that expanding marriage and adoption rights for same-sex couples jeopardizes traditional family structures and harms children. Activists expect these issues to be instrumentalized by the PiS party to mobilize conservative voters in the predominantly Catholic country during this year's October or November elections.
Critics have accused PiS of violating fundamental democratic rights, and the party has consistently clashed with the European Union over the rule of law, press freedom, and minority rights, including LGBTQ+ rights.
However, other perspectives exist in Poland, particularly within the opposition party, Civic Platform. Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, who is also the vice-chairman of the liberal opposition party Civic Platform, assured the crowd during the Pride march that the LGBTQ+ community would always be safe, as reported by the BBC. "We want to show that diversity and minority rights represent an open and tolerant Europe," he stated at a press conference preceding the march.
Among the large crowd at the march were the U.S. Ambassador to Poland, Mark Brzeziński, and the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo.
Earlier, The Gaze reported that U.S. President Joe Biden issued a statement recognizing June as Pride Month and emphasizing the need to fight for LGBTQ+ rights.