Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Poland face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. According to ILGA-Europe's 2024 report, the status of LGBTQ rights in Poland is the worst among the European Union countries.
Bączkowski and Others v. Poland was a European Court of Human Rights case which ruled unanimously that the banning of an LGBT pride parade in Warsaw, locally known as the Parada Równości, in 2005 was in violation of Articles 11, 13 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Robert Biedroń is a Polish politician, former mayor of Słupsk, and LGBT activist who has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament since 2019. He is the Chair of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) in the European Parliament.
SOS homophobie is an LGBTQ support organization based in France that deals with homophobia. The organization currently consists of a 900 volunteer members as well as 17 regional offices, all of which are based in France. The group is frequently mentioned on various media such as social media sites, television, and print. SOS homophobie provides national support programs including an anonymous hotline, testimonials on websites and support offered through postal mail. The main objectives of the organization are to support those who have fallen victim to homophobia and to run homophobia prevention events. Moreover, the organization aims to ultimately achieve equality between homosexual and heterosexual couples, and equal treatment for people despite sexual orientation.
Lambda Warsaw Association is the oldest operating Polish LGBT organisation. It was founded in October 1997 by activists of Rainbow Centre, which existed from 1995 to 1997. As a public interest organisation, its aim is to create a positive gay and lesbian identity, and build social tolerance toward sexual minorities.
The Warsaw Homosexual Movement was an independent group of gays and lesbians which existed in Warsaw between January 1987 and summer 1988. The government of the Polish People's Republic refused the group's registration to become an NGO.
Homosexuality has been legal in Poland since 1932, though LGBT rights in Poland are among the most restricted in Europe. Homosexuality has been a taboo subject for most of Poland's history; combined with a lack of legal discrimination, this has often led to a lack of historical sources on the subject. Homophobia has been a common public attitude in Poland because of the influence of Catholic Church in Polish public life and widespread social conservatism. Homosexuality in Poland was decriminalized in 1932, but recriminalized by the German authorities following the Invasion of Poland in 1939.
Lisette Kampus is an Estonian LGBT rights movement activist.
LGBT-free zones were municipalities and regions of Poland that have declared themselves unwelcoming of LGBT rights, in order to ban equality marches and other LGBT events. By June 2020, some 100 municipalities (map) and five voivodeships, encompassing a third of the country, had adopted resolutions which have been characterised as "LGBT-free zones". On 6 February 2024, Warsaw Voivodship Administrative Court repealed the last "LGBT-free zone" in Poland.
Jacek Poniedziałek is a Polish film, theatre and television actor as well as a theatre director and translator.
Equality March in Kraków, known as the Tolerance March before 2010, is an annual demonstration in Kraków, Poland, in the form of a street march of people opposed to homophobia and discrimination against sexual minorities in Poland.
Equality marches or equality parades are the Polish equivalent of pride parades, which aim to improve LGBT rights in Poland. They have been held in various Polish cities and towns since 2001.
On 7 August 2020, a protest against the arrest of LGBT activist Margot led to a confrontation with police in central Warsaw, Poland, which resulted in the arrest of 47 others, some of whom were protesting, and others who were bystanders. The event was called Tęczowa Noc – translated as Rainbow Night – and was dubbed "Polish Stonewall" by some outlets, in an analogy to the 1969 Stonewall riots.
Inwazja ("Invasion") is a half-hour film directed by Przemysław Wenerski and Marcin Tulicki, produced by Telewizja Polska which purports to reveal "the inside story, aims, methods, and money behind the LGBT invasion" of Poland. It was first broadcast on 10 October 2019 ahead of the 2019 Polish parliamentary election two days later, shortly after the prime-time news show Wiadomości.
Mirosława Makuchowska is a Polish LGBT rights activist. In 2020 she became a founding member of the Consultative Council created on 1 November 2020 in the context of the October 2020 Polish protests.
Wanda Traczyk-Stawska ps. "Pączek", „Atma” is a Polish psychologist and social activist. She was involved in the Polish underground resistance movement during World War II, a soldier of the Home Army, a member of the Gray Ranks, a participant in the Warsaw Uprising, and chairperson of the Social Committee for the Cemetery of Warsaw Insurgents.
Queer.pl is the oldest online newspaper and portal marketed to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer community (LGBTQ+) in Poland. It was established in 1996 by Radosław Oliwa, and is published by queermedia. In 2012 innastrona.pl refreshed its look and changed its name to queer.pl.
