By Laura Moskwa | Published 4th January 2026

Poland consistently ranks as one of the fastest growing economies in Europe, but, it also ranks highly on another dangerous scale: LGBT+ phobia.

LGBT+ phobia is defined as ‘any form of discrimination towards an LGBT+ person because of the LGBTphobic views of the perpetrator’, according to The Proud Trust. This discrimination can include physical attacks and verbal slurs or jokes. The Equality Act (2010) makes it unlawful to discrimination against LGBT+ people.

Although a member of the EU and an increasingly attractive economy, Poland seems to be quite stagnant in terms of actioning violations of human rights of the LGBTQIA+ community.  According to the 2024 ILGA-Europe ‘Rainbow Map’, Poland was ranked as the most homophobic country in the European Union (as well as ranking highly in European nations) once again. As of the current 2025 ‘Rainbow Map’ ranking, Poland took 39^th place out of 49 countries.

There have been some recent improvements in LGBT+ rights, such as the abolition of Poland’s ‘LGBT Ideology Free’ zones. These were an attack on the rights of LGBT+ people by the Law and Justice (PiS) party. Regions declared themselves LGBT+ free or joined a government-supported Family Charter, calling for the exclusion of LGBT+ people from Polish society.

However, Poland still significantly lacks the necessary measures to protect the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community: discriminatory, damaging perceptions and attitudes remain persistent and underlying. With a lack of hate crime laws and other protections in place, many feel unsafe in the country to be free in who they are in public. European Union studies show that as many as 38% of LGBTQ+ people in Poland have experienced physical or sexual violence, and almost 70% have experienced verbal violence or harassment. 

This hate crime doesn’t only take place in real life, but also on digital platforms: Amnesty International UK published an article in early September of 2025 commenting on how anti-LGBTQ+ hate had been contributed to by the social media platform X, formerly Twitter. Technology facilitated gender-based violence threatens the livelihood and safety of members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and especially for those living in Poland where homophobia itself isn’t recognised as a crime in Polish legislation. 

One of the main reasons propagated by anti-LGBTQIA+ legislations and attitudes in Poland is often attributed to the desire to uphold ‘family values’ that are central to the society. These values are instilled from a young age, with the country’s strict and narrow-minded education system refusing to provide adequate and, in many cases, even any education on non-normative sexual orientation and gender identity. LGBTQIA+ is seen as an ideology, not an identity or community, further dehumanising members. School children are taught about the importance of the (nuclear) family, and the consequences of deviating from this norm. 

The Polish education system falls short of diversity and inclusion, particularly in terms of LGBTQIA+. Even in light of initiatives such as ‘Tęczowy piątek’ (Rainbow Friday), members of Parliament urge the discontinuation of these educational strategies as they ‘threaten emotional and psychological destabilisation in turbulent adolescents, as well as educational sovereignty’. Reports show that 72% of young people in Poland feel they have to hide their orientation/identity in school, and reviews made by the ‘Kampania Przeciw Homofobii’ (Campaign Against Homophobia) indicate that 70% of LGBTQ+ students in Poland have experienced verbal violence, and 44% have experienced physical violence due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. 

The discrimination that LGBTQIA+ people face in schools consequently impacts their mental health. However, institutional discrimination further manifests itself in impeded access to health care, mistreatment, and denial of services. This includes denial of gender reconciliation procedures, rejecting international and European standards of medical consensus. Consequently, LGBTQIA+ people experience lower diagnoses and poorer health outcomes for the transgender community especially.

Moreover, same-sex marriage remains overlooked. Still seen as illegal, Poland has recently faced significant legal pressure from European courts. Article 18 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland is consistently interpreted as criminalising same-sex marriage and endorsing heterosexual principles.

Individuals also struggle to stand up for their own, and others, rights in protests and marches. In 2021, a prominent citizen-led initiative, the ‘Stop LGBT’ Bill, received over 200,000 signatures and was submitted to Parliament. Its aim was to ban public assemblies that ‘promote’ non-heterosexual orientations and gender identities. Pride parades see numerous violent and discriminatory acts from those opposing the ‘LGBT ideology’, from burning pride flags to physical assault. Planned routes for marches are often changed for security concerns, and attendees of the marches are urged to hide any LGBTQIA+ symbols on the way to and from the march. The opposition that these marches are met with are direct. In 2019, extremists brandished signs relating LGBTQIA+ to ‘paedophiles’, ‘molesters’, and ‘HIV and AIDS’. 

Poland’s homophobic and transphobic structure clearly violates several human rights, including the right to safety and protection from violence, right to private and family life, right to equality and non-discrimination, and right of expression and assembly. The EU has pressured Poland to action these breaches with threats to withdraw vital funding, especially in terms of the ‘anti-LGBT ideology zones’. The European Commissions president, Ursula von der Leyen, commented that these areas were “humanity-free zones” and had “no place in our union”. Pressure from the EU has been somewhat effective, with regions revoking their self-proclaimed status as ‘LGBT Ideology Free Zones’. However, it is undeniable that human rights continue to be threatened by underlying attitudes and views. Moreover, some Polish political parties, who emphasise national sovereignty, have used this rhetoric to justify resistance to EU standards in anti-discrimination and family law, by suggesting that LGBT+ rights are foreign values imposed by Brussels.

Ultimately, more needs to be done to protect the livelihoods, safety, and rights of the LGBTQIA+ community in Poland while this is possible. Not everyone has the means and opportunity to escape from this violence and discrimination, so Poland must become a safe place for all its citizens, particularly its minority communities.

Editor: Emma Burgess