Homosexuality in Polish schools faces censorship

The Polish government’s proposed legislation to censor all discussion of homosexuality in schools and other academic institutions would violate freedom of speech and impede free access to information. On March 13, the deputy minister of education, Miroslaw Orzechowski, said that the government is developing legislation to “punish anyone who promotes homosexuality” in schools and education establishments. Teachers, principals and students who violate the law could face dismissal, fines or prison terms.
HIV/AIDS educators who address safer sex for LGBT people would be banned from schools, as would all LGBT organizations. The deputy minister of education announced on March 15 that “teachers who reveal their homosexuality will be fired from work.” The legislation, which has apparently been fast-tracked, could pass parliament by the end of the month. “Polish authorities claim to be protecting families, but in fact they are trying to deny children free speech and lifesaving information on HIV/AIDS,” said Scott Long, director of Human Rights Watch’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights Program. “Schools should be training grounds for tolerance, not bastions of repression and discrimination.”

Alter LGBTQI* Sprache Englisch