CIVICUS discusses an initiative to recognise hate speech against LGBTQI+ people as a hate crime with Olga Pawłowska-Plesińska, Advocacy Coordinator at the Campaign Against Homophobia, a Polish civil society organisation.
The Polish government recently announced plans to include sexual orientation, gender, age and disability in the country’s hate crime laws. Insults based on any of these categories, as well as nationality, ethnicity, race and religious affiliation, could result in up to three years in prison. The proposed legislation aims to protect vulnerable minorities and meet international standards. While LGBTQI+ civil society sees this as a victory in a quite conservative environment, there are also concerns that the vague language of the proposed law could lead to it being misused for political reasons.