Human rights in Poland
[1] In 2021, ILGA-Europe ranked Poland lowest in the European Union for protection of LGBT rights for the second year in a row.
The Warsaw Confederation of 1573 confirmed the religious freedom of all residents of Poland, which was extremely important for the stability of the multi-ethnic Polish society of the time.
Gathered at Warsaw, all nobles signed a document in which representatives of all major religions pledged mutual support and tolerance.
The following eight or nine decades of material prosperity and relative security witnessed the appearance of "a virtual galaxy of sparkling intellectual figures.
The Republic) of the Constitution of Poland which reads: Public authorities in the Republic of Poland shall be impartial in matters of personal conviction, whether religious or philosophical, or in relation to outlooks on life, and shall ensure their freedom of expression within public life.The article Article 54 (section II.
[9] In 2017, Amnesty International raised concerns about freedom of assembly in Poland, stating that "authorities use techniques such as surveillance, harassment and prosecution to disperse and prevent mass protests".
[12] Feminism in Poland started in 1800s in the age of foreign Partitions marked by the gross abuse of power especially by the Russians,[13] which impacted the rights of women as well.
Poland's precursor of feminism under Partitions, Narcyza Żmichowska who founded a group of Suffragettes in 1842, was jailed by the Russians for three years.
Nevertheless, there is a number of issues concerning women in modern-day Poland such as the abortion rights (formally allowed only in special circumstances) and the "glass ceiling".
[17][18] Domestic Violence,[19] according to 2011 report by TheNews.pl website run by the Polish Radio, is perceived by one in five respondents as a problem.
Thirty eight percent of Poles know at least one family where physical violence occurs, and seven percent claimed to know of at least one family where sexual violence took place, according to a survey carried out in November by research centre SMG KRC on behalf of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy.
One in four of those surveyed felt that there is no obligation on neighbours or acquaintances to act when domestic violence is brought to their notice, believing that it is difficult to judge which party is in the right.
[20] In January 2014, a reform was introduced to both simplify the procedure as well as make it a criminal offence pursued by the state, rather than a private act of accusal.
[23] On 29 October 2020, the civil rights advocacy group Amnesty International urged authorities in Poland to protect peaceful protesters demonstrating against abortion restrictions, from harassment and violent attacks committed by counter-demonstrators.
According to the organization, protesters have faced excessive use of force by police officers, and have been arbitrarily detained without access to lawyers in the past.
Homosexuality was confirmed legal in 1932, and Poland also recognises gender change and requires no sterilisation of its transgender citizens.
[28] In July 2021, the European Commission announced that it was suing Poland (along with Hungary) for violation of the fundamental rights of LGBTQ people.
[29][30] A 2010 report by United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor noted that "Poland's government generally respects the human rights of its citizens"; it did however note problems, with the majority of such being police misconduct, lengthy pretrial detention and laws that restricted free speech (although rarely enforced), in addition to corruption in the government and society.
