Poland

Demographics

Estimated Total Population:

38 million

World Bank, 2018

Estimated SGM Population:

N/A

Estimated Total SGM Adult Population:

N/A

Estimated % of SGM Adults (18+):

4.9%

Dalia Research, 2016

In Poland, several non-governmental organizations have been established to advocate on behalf of the Polish LGBTQ+ community, which enables SGM to receive legal, psychological, and medical services despite their relative invisibility in the country. However, a research study found that many Polish respondents (57.6%) were unable to distinguish between transgender and lesbian or gay persons, indicating that many in the country conflate gender identity with sexual orientation (Kłonkowska, 2018). A 2016 Dalia Research report, conducted through a census-representative survey, estimates that 4.9% of Polish citizens identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. Other estimates suggest that trans men disproportionately outnumber trans women at a 4:1 ratio (Kłonkowska, 2018).

Poland's Laws and Policies from ILGA World Report (2019)

RECOGNITION

Marriage for Same-Sex Couples	No
Civil Unions	No
Joint Adoption	No
Second Parent Adoption	No
Assisted Reproductive Technology	Yes*

*only allowed for treating medical infertility of married or cohabiting couples (Leibetseder, 2018)

PROTECTION

Employment Nondiscrimination Laws	Yes
Broad Protections	No
Criminalization of Violence	No
Ban of Conversion Therapy	No

CRIMINALIZATION

Consensual Same-Sex Acts are Legal?	Yes
Gender	Does Not Apply
Max Penalty (Yrs in Prison)	Does Not Apply

Selected Published Studies, Reports, and Other Documents

Studies:

Karolina, K., Monika, P., & Michał, S. (2020). Two Sexes, Two Genders Only: Measuring Attitudes toward Transgender Individuals in Poland. Sex Roles; New York, 82(9–10), 600–621. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11199-019-01071-7

Kłonkowska, A. M. (2018). Masculinity: Assigned–Reassigned–Socially Constructed: The Social Reception of Trans Masculinity in Poland. Men and Masculinities, 21(2), 210–229. https://doi.org/10.1177/1097184X16658760

Kłonkowska, A. M., & Dynarski, W. (2020). “Be Glad That You Are Ill”: Medical Views on Transgender and Its Influence on Self-Perception Among Trans People in Poland. Przegląd Socjologii Jakościowej, 16(1), 84–101. https://doi.org/10.18778/1733-8069.16.1.06

Leibetseder, D. (2018). Queer and Trans Access to Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART): A Comparison of Three EU-States -Poland, Spain and Sweden. Journal of International Women’s Studies, 20(1), 10-. Gale General OneFile.

Zarzycka, B., Rybarski, R., & Sliwak, J. (2017). The Relationship of Religious Comfort and Struggle with Anxiety and Satisfaction with Life in Roman Catholic Polish Men: The Moderating Effect of Sexual Orientation. Journal of Religion and Health, 56(6), 2162–2179. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-017-0388-y

Reports:

Transgender Europe, Overdiagnosed but Underserved, 2017.

Articles:

A Third of Poland Declared ‘LGBT-Free Zone.’ (2020, February 25). Balkan Insight. https://balkaninsight.com/2020/02/25/a-third-of-poland-declared-lgbt-free-zone/

Sex Education Under Fire Again in Poland. (2019, March 19). Human Rights Watch. https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/03/19/sex-education-under-fire-again-poland