nick is green

Two types of people

ANYWAYS

Post by cielesne on instagram, summarizing what is happening in Poland right now (06.11.2021)

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Here’s the text from slides (all 10 pics are slides from instagram, with light background and black text on them): 1. What's happening in Poland and why it's worse than you think 2. Access to abortion It has been one year since Poland's Constitutional Tribunal ruled that pregnancies can be terminated only in cases of rape or incest, or if the life of the woman is endangered. The ruling excludes fetal defects – which account for the vest majority of terminations in the country. The death of the 30-year-old Izabela, who died of septic shock after doctors waited for her unborn baby’s heart to stop beating, is the first publicly known person to die as a direct result of the ruling. Protests are being held al around Poland and abroad (source: Politico, Reuters) 3. Migration and asylum The European Court of Human Rights ruled that Poland had unlawfully refused entry to asylum seekers at the Poland-Belarus border. In March 2020, Poland closed it’s border with Belarus, effectively making it impossible for people to access Polish territory to seek asylum. Since then many people, including children, have camped out on a stretch od land located between the Polish and Belarusian border control. They cannot return to Belarus nor can they enter Poland. As of Nov. 2, an Iraqi man is the tenth refugee to have died on the Belarus-Polish boarder since the summer (source: Human Rights Watch, Info Migrants, Gazeta Wyborcza) 4. Sexual orientation and gender identity The government ramped up its attacks on women’s and LGBT rights, part of the government’s increasing hostile rhetoric against what it refers to as “gender ideology”. During his election campaign, President Duda frequently made homophobic statements. He stated that LGBT rights were an “ideology” more dangerous than communism and signed a “Family Charter” pledging to “defend children from LGBT ideology”. Authorities in one-third of Poland’s cities have identified their localities as “LGBT Ideology Free Zones” (source: Human Rights Watch) 5. Freedom of media, pluralism The populist, governing “Law and Justice” party effectively took over TVP (public TV broadcaster) and public radio shortly after winning the 2015 parliamentary and presidential elections. Polish government and ruling party continue to use “public” media as a tool for spreading their own propaganda, anti-LGBT agenda, and using it as a tool to win elections. Over the last year the government strengthened control over the press and continued its smear attacks on media outlets and journalists critical of the government and ruling party (source: Human Rights Watch). 6. Women’s and children’s rights In July, the Minister of Justice declared that Poland would withdraw from the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, claiming the Convention is “harmful”, as it requires educators to teach children about gender. Earlier in the year, service providers reported that calls from domestic violence victims increased dramatically during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown but that the government did not take measures to support prevention or ensure availability of services and appropriate police response (source: Human Rights Watch). 7. Sex education Sex education in Polish schools is almost nonexistent. Equivalent classes are often led by catechist or biology teachers. Lessons and topics are often outdated and extremely conservative. A controversial bill, “Stop Pedophilia”, which would criminalize activities, educators and organizations providing sexuality education to children or information on sexual and reproductive health and rights was debated in parliament in April 2020 and subsequently sent to a committee for “further work”. The legislation aims to send sex educators to prison for up to five years (source: Human Rights Watch). 8. Independence of the judiciary The Polish constitutional crisis began in 2015, just after Poland’s governing party PiS won the elections. They cancelled the earlier appointment of five Constitutional Tribunal judges and packed

the Tribunal with new judges (affiliated with a ruling party). In 2017 there was a political takeover of the National Council of the Judiciary, a constitutional body responsible for protecting the independence judges. The government continues its attacks on members of the judiciary. Judges and prosecutors are subject to arbitrary disciplinary proceedings for standing up for the rule of law and speaking up against problematic judicial reforms – an interference with their judicial independence (source: Human Rights Watch, Marcin Matczak, The Foundation for Law, Justice and Society Foreign Policy, dw.com, NPR). 9. Birth control Poland has been ranked the lowest European country in terms of access to contraception and other family planning resources in a report by the European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development (EPF). Only two types of birth control pills are funded by public health care system. Doctors can even refuse to prescribe one if it goes “against” their personal beliefs (source: Tygodnik Polityka, The European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual and Reproductive Rights). 10. How can you help - collect signatures for legalna.aborcja (legal abortion) project. Everyone can collect signatures, but only people with Polish citizenship can sign it.

- PROTEST! There will be protests happening all around Poland and abroad on Saturday, Nov 6 and Sunday, Nov 7 – check out what’s happening near you

- support these organizations and initiatives: Aborcyjny Dream Team, Aborcja Bez Granic, Women Help Women, Human Rights Watch