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Driving UN pressure for LGBTI law reform
2025-06-10
By Samuele D-Auria, PhD Researcher and Piotr Godzisz Co-Director, Centre for Hate Studies and Associate Professor in Criminology, School of Criminology, Sociology and Social Policy, University of Leicester
How Leicester research is driving UN pressure for LGBTI law reform in Poland
Evidence from the Centre for Hate Studies helped shape international scrutiny of Poland’s failure to protect LGBTI people from hate speech and violence – highlighting the power of research-led advocacy to prompt legal reform.
Back in October 2024, ahead of his country visit to Poland, we submitted a report to the United Nations Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI).
At that time, the Polish parliament was considering new legislation on hate speech and hate crime. After years of state-backed hostility towards LGBTI people and anti-LGBTI politics under the previous government, it felt like a rare opportunity to push for real change.
Our aim was clear: to seize this window of opportunity for advocacy by exposing the legal gaps that leave LGBTI people with insufficient protection and to provide the UN with concrete recommendations to support policy reform.
The United Nations has now published the Independent Expert’s final report calling on Poland to amend the Criminal Code to explicitly protect LGBTI individuals.
This came as the Polish Parliament voted to extend hate crime and hate speech protections to people targeted because of their sexual orientation, gender, age, and disability – nearly everything we had advocated for. However, protections against transphobia remain less clearly defined than for other forms of hate.
But the victory was short-lived. The outgoing president referred the new law to the politically hijacked Constitutional Court, effectively blocking its implementation – at least for now.
This back-and-forth shows just how difficult the road to legal reform can be, but also how vital research-led advocacy is in keeping up the pressure on governments to uphold their human rights obligations.
Why we wrote the report
Since coming to power in 2023, the Polish government has distanced itself from the hostile political discourse previously directed at LGBTI people. However, this symbolic shift has not translated into meaningful improvements in the lives of those still vulnerable to discrimination and violence.
EU research shows that over 70% of same-sex couples in Poland still avoid holding hands in public, fearing harassment or violence.
In 2022, only 11 hate crimes against LGBTI people were recorded in official statistics, but civil society data suggests the true figure is far higher.
Our report documented specific cases where victims were denied justice, highlighting the systemic failures of law enforcement and the judiciary in handling LGBTI-related hate crimes.
International engagement: a strategic window for change
The UN plays a critical role in holding governments accountable for human rights violations. By submitting our report to the Independent Expert, we helped ensure that his discussions with Polish authorities reflected the lived realities of affected communities and were grounded in robust evidence.
Our approach followed the boomerang pattern of advocacy. When national governments fail to act on human rights violations, researchers and activists can turn to international bodies to generate external pressure—ultimately boomeranging back onto domestic institutions.
This strategy was crucial in Poland, where government officials have repeatedly ignored or marginalised LGBTI organisations.
We worked in close coordination with Polish civil society groups, amplifying their efforts by contributing robust, evidence-based findings. This collaboration helped bring the weaknesses in Poland’s legal and institutional frameworks to international attention and ensured they were formally scrutinised through the UN process.
What needs to happen next?
Poland must now follow through. Based on our findings and the Independent Expert’s report, two key areas of reform are urgently needed:
- Law reform: Poland should explicitly recognise sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and sex characteristics as protected grounds in hate crime and hate speech provisions.
- Institutional capacity building: Poland should improve policing and prosecution of LGBTI cases, ensuring non-discriminatory practices.
Conclusion: Research as a catalyst for change
Until the necessary legal protections are in place, Poland’s LGBTI communities will remain exposed to hostility with limited avenues for justice.