Poland vows to stop programs that include LGBT education
30 April 2019 - In March 2019 Poland’s ruling party, The Law and Justice Party (PiS), made it an election promise to block all planned LGBT education. A new school same sex education program was planned by the city of Warsaw but the PiS states it is a threat to polish values and culture.
(Image: right-wing protesters carry a banner equating gays with pedophiles during the gay pride in 2017 in Gdansk)
Proposed programming
The proposed programming is meant to educate students on discrimination, reproductive health, and sexual orientation. The push back comes from conservative politicians and Roman Catholic leaders. It is believed that if the program were implemented that it would limit the involvement of parents in their children’s education. Polish schools currently only offer a family life preparation course rather than a formal sex education. The polish government already has a censorship law in place that blocks LGBT education to be taught but it is unclear if the PiS is restating the laws in place or wanting to intensify the current censorship laws.
Conservative views
In Poland about 90 percent of the population identify as Catholic. While over half of the polish population think that homosexuality should be tolerated, a quarter of the population still believes that it should not be tolerated at all. The nationalist Law and Justice Party is Poland’s largest ruling party. The party is currently trying to elicit fear in Polish citizens by creating an idea that LGBT education is a threat to family values. The majority of support for The Law and Justice party comes from smaller towns and rural areas. Larger cities such as Warsaw are more tolerant of LGBT educational programs. Poland is currently ranked 27 out of 28 countries when it comes to non-discrimination and equality. Same-sex partnerships are not currently recognized in Poland and gay marriage is illegal.
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