Yesterday (May 17th) was International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT): an annual event to highlight anti-LGBTQ discrimination around the world.
One country which has some way to go in regards to LGBTQ equality is Poland. Although same-sex sexual activity is legal, and there’s an equal age of consent, same-sex marriage is not allowed and there is a lack of anti-discrimination laws.
Local lawmakers recently also allowed regions to declare themselves as “LGBTI-free zones”: a move widely condemned by other European countries. Despite the condemnation, around a third of municipalities in the country have adopted the LGBTI-free zone status.
Related: A third of Poland has declared itself “LGBTQ-free zones”
In the wake of this, the team at the British Embassy in Poland decided to visibly mark this year’s IDAHOBIT. Staff, including Ambassador Jonathan Knott, wore rainbow face masks.
Uwaga – homofobia jest zaraźliwa. Chrońmy się 😷😉
Pracownicy Ambasady obchodzą dziś Międzynarodowy Dzień Przeciw Homofobii, Transfobii i Bifobii w tęczowych maseczkach 🌈 Czytaj więcej: https://t.co/IhybSQzXHu#IDAHOBIT2020 #LoveIsGREAT #IDAHOBIT #LGBT
Maseczki od @JakubiDawid pic.twitter.com/MtNVL2hiRo— UK in Poland 🇬🇧🇵🇱 (@ukinpoland) May 17, 2020
In a statement, Knott said, “While right now we all need to focus on fighting COVID-19, we must not forget to continue protecting the values in which we believe.
“On International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, we reaffirm our support for efforts to raise public awareness of issues affecting the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community, and pay tribute to the hard work of LGBTI people in Poland, the UK and around the world to ensure human rights and dignity for all.
“We continue to be committed to protecting all people from violence and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, and ensuring that every individual enjoys equal opportunities.”
Related: Meet the brave guys of Warsaw trying to make Poland safe again
Knott also tweeted a short video of other ambassadors to Poland marking IDAHOBIT. It included photos of Ambassadors from Canada, New Zealand, Austria, Denmark, Iceland, as well as Georgette Mosbacher, the US Ambassador to Poland.
In the clip, Mosbacher holds a rainbow flag with the words: ‘We support equality for all’. The US Embassy in Warsaw shared the same video on its Twitter feed, and Mosbacher re-tweeted it.
On the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia, the U.S. Embassy stands with other diplomatic missions in Poland in affirming the dignity and equality of all people regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or sex characteristics. pic.twitter.com/2QonEfriMD
— US Embassy Warsaw (@USEmbassyWarsaw) May 17, 2020
Cam
Poland’s getting crazy with their own version of Trump/Republicans. Glad their bigotry is being called out.
Jim
Awesome
Kieran
Trump is such a homophobe! WHY did he deny our US ambassador to Poland the right to protest homophobia? Oh wait…….our US ambassador was one of the six ambassadors protesting Polish homophobia? Drats!
Never mind.
Kangol2
@Kieran, is the US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia posting a flag like this? The US Ambassador to Russia? The US Ambassador to Egypt? The US Ambassador to Morocco? The US Ambassador to Zimbabwe? The US Ambassador to Jamaica? The US Ambassador to Iraq? I mean, Georgette Mosbacher, a longtime GOP hack, can post this, but I also ask, is she saying this publicly to the Polish Ambassador? Has trumped raised LGBTQ equality and rights to Poland’s leaders? Or those of Lithuania, Armenia, Russia, etc., other Central European countries with very bad records on LGBTQ rights? I know he’s silent as a churchmouse in room full of grain when it comes to speaking out against homophobia to his Middle Eastern buddies!
barryaksarben
The disgusting Polish government is attacking actual historians for their correct contention that the Poles were only too happy to help the nazis round up and kill their jewish citizens. They are trying to rewrite history and they will try it again for this anti gay behavior that the entire country has embraced. They aare sheep and no gay person with any brains would go there or spend money there until this government is gone
stranger2myself
Only more disgusting thing than Polish government are your lies. As gay Pole and a great grand-kid of RAN (Righteous Among the Nations hero) I call your whole comment a big pile of bullcrap. As you most likely don’t know 6M of Poles died at WW2, half of them were POLISH citizens of Jewish religion. They were mostly murdered by fascist Germans, not some “nazis” – that term is only washing out German responsibility for genocide. FYI Poland was an ONLY German-occupied country were for helping Jews you were getting killed on spot, quite often with whole family and neighbours. Just read stuff on Wikipedia, like: “As of 1 January 2019, there are 6,992 Polish men and women recognized as Righteous Among the Nations, over a quarter of the 27,362 recognized by Yad Vashem in total. The list of Righteous is not comprehensive and it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of Poles concealed and aided hundreds of thousands of their Polish-Jewish neighbors. Many of these initiatives were carried out by individuals, but there also existed organized networks of Polish resistance which were dedicated to aiding Jews – most notably, the Zegota organization. In German-occupied Poland, the task of rescuing Jews was difficult and dangerous. All household members were subject to capital punishment if a Jew was found concealed in their home or on their property.”
Moreover for killing, aiding or helping to kill ANY of Polish citizens (no matter of religion or ethnicity) Polish Underground Army (AK) was sentencing traitors for death. So just stop spilling your lies or have little bit of honour here and sign them with your real name and surname.
john.k
It is wrong the say “the Poles were only too happy . . .”. No doubt some Poles collaborated with the Nazis as did some people in all the occupied territories.