By Dmitri Romanovski

Many countries around the world are still criminalizing LGBT status. However, the acceptance of equal rights for sexual minorities is growing and in recent years, we might have witnessed their spillover to the area of foreign affairs.

On of the main global promoters of LGBT rights around the world today is the United States. American leaders recognize LGBT rights as the next battlefield in the global struggle for universal human rights equality. This notion jelled in 2011 with the Obama’s Memorandum on advancing the human rights of LGBT people abroad, making it one of the U.S. foreign policy priorities.

The European Union has a similar stance. The EU External Action Service invest its diplomatic efforts in eliminating discriminatory laws related to same-sex relations, promoting equality and non-discrimination in public sphere and combating state and individual violence against LGBT people around the world.

However, same as the US, the European Union is not entirely free from the internal LGBT discrimination. Same-sex relations are unrecognized or banned in 11 out of 28 EU countries. Even more Members States deprive adoption rights of same-sex couples. Cyprus still bans LGBT people from serving in military and Ireland so far did not recognize gender change. Legal issues aside, LGBT rights are largely contested by conservative majority in some EU states. Poland is one of the countries where this topic is extremely hot due to the strong notion of traditionalism and Christian values.

Orange Magazine talked with Zofia Jablonska, a lawyer in Polish Association of Antidiscrimination Law and a former activist of the organization Campaign Against Homophobia to learn about the dynamics between LGBT right, foreign affairs and media in Poland.

- Do you feel that in Poland LGBT rights became something more than just a domestic issue?

I think yes. Since Barack Obama became president, Polish LGBT rights organizations had better support from American Embassy, which has been funding many projects and helping us in many other ways. We felt the difference comparing to George Bush’s administration. When it comes to other states, such as Nordic countries [Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden], this is also the case. Diplomats from the region always attend the Polish Pride and support us by other means. On the other hand, when it comes to funding from American donors, Poland is not their main priority any more, because now we are in the EU. For them this is an indicator that minority rights situation in Poland cannot be that bad off comparing, for example, with the Global South countries.

- Did EU membership bring substantial change to Poland in terms of LGBT rights?

All the anti-discrimination policies we have today in Poland had been implemented because of the EU directives. However, when it comes to social and political attitudes, willingness to do more, Poland still has a problem and this situation is not changing for better. Considering the last presidential elections [won by Andrzej Duda from right-wing conservative party Law and Justice, perceived as traditionalist, ultra-Catholic, anti-European and anti-gay] and upcoming parliamentarian elections [in which opinion polls are forecasting the victory of Law and Justice], I think the tendencies are degrading for the LGBT community.

- Does Polish status quo regarding some LGBT rights affects its position on international stage?

There are moments when it does, but overall I think it is still not that bad. Taking into consideration the situation with LGBT rights in countries of Central and Eastern European region we are doing quite fine. This is the argument, which Polish politicians are using to look good on international level. However, in reality nothing changes for good.
I think the peer pressure from other EU states can influence our leadership, but only if we will fall behind very far. Our biggest issue is that the supremacy of the Polish Catholic Church in questions related to family, marriage, contraception or other aspects of private life has never been questioned since the fall of the Eastern Block. The Church promotes very conservative and normative thinking about family values and gender roles and the mainstream political parties always consider this position in their policies.

- Does mass media help or hinder LGBT rights in Poland?

Many liberal media companies are trying to adhere to equality oriented point of view. We do get a lot of coverage and it is mainly positive. It raises our visibility. Yet, a big portion of media coverage in Poland is only about sensation. If something is sensational, it will be aired. Even if it would hurt LGBT community or be partially true.

- Do you think the media can empower LGBT community in Poland?

I think media can pave the way for something bigger. As a part of Campaign Against Homophobia media campaign ‘Parents there to speak out’ we placed posters around biggest Polish cities with parents posing with their LGBT children. Parents were bringing empowering messages in favour of their children’s rights like ‘My daughter taught me courage’ or ‘My son taught me how to speak out’. This campaign started so-called Parents Movement, which today has grown quite big. Campaign Against Homophobia trained these parents how to become activists. Now they are going from city to city, talking about their children, meeting with other parents. They are working on a grassroots level and making the change that a media campaign alone would never bring.