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By Sophie Garnett
The persecution of women in Poland has been perpetuated by the country’s government for the past five years, ever since the right-wing ‘Law and Justice’ party (PiS) came to power in 2015. The close alignment between the party and the Catholic Church has influenced a plethora of law changes, many of which have promoted a conservative social agenda. Women, along with LGBTQ+ citizens, have been the most targeted demographic by the government, with hostility to gay rights being a key policy upon which the President was recently re-elected.
The Istanbul Convention
Poland’s signing of the Istanbul Convention has long been a contested issue since it was signed by the previous centrist government in 2012. Signed by all EU member states, this convention aims to combat violence against women and in particular legislate against domestic violence.
However, in July of this year, the President announced his intention to withdraw Poland’s signature from the Istanbul Convention, highlighting the “elements of an ideological nature, which we consider harmful", as Poland’s Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro identified. However, Female protestors have countered this justification. “The aim is to legalise domestic violence," Magdalena Lempart, one of the protest organisers, said at a march in Warsaw earlier this year.
This is not the first time Poland has tried to withdraw from the convention; the European Parliament and Council of Europe have strongly condemned their past threats of withdrawal and have argued that the treaty does not explicitly mention same-sex marriage, something the Polish government identified as an issue.
Legislative Control
Aside from the intention to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, the government has been limiting women’s rights in other ways. Polish women have seen their right to abortion access dwindle since the ‘Law and Justice’ party have been in power. The government has worked tirelessly to curb reproductive freedom by limiting access to sexual health information and providing limited and inadequate services.
Governmental support of bills that would virtually ban abortion has also defined the PiS rule over the last five years; judges are now pressured into giving harsh prison sentences to people who support women with abortion care unless within the narrowest of limits allowed by Poland’s restrictive law.
Abortion is now illegal in Poland aside from in cases of rape, incest, severe foetal abnormalities or in cases where the mother’s life is at risk.
Any reproductive support women may have had access to in the past has also been severely limited by the government - the Law and Justice party have targeted women’s rights groups through raids and denial of funding, often with little warning and no clear rationale.
The Women’s Rights Centre in Warsaw cut staff and services when it lost long-term government funding, going from helping about 3,000 women a year to only 1,000. Politicians within the PiS party have also publicly smeared women’s rights organisations by defining their work as against family values.
Caroline Hickson, Regional Director at International Planned Parenthood Europe takes the view that: “Women’s safety, protection and freedom are at stake as their support systems are taken apart though relentless attacks. Women will be completely abandoned by the State with no safety net, alone and unable to ask for help.”
While primarily the government’s lack of support for women has damaged women’s access to help, the smear campaign has also deterred women and children from seeking out help after cases of abuse or sexual violence. Many women in Poland have reported increased feelings of unworthiness and an inability to even attempt escaping their situation.
The Impact of Covid-19
Increasingly, there is fear that the Covid-19 pandemic will make women even more helpless as the government has been able to bring in new restrictions in light of the virus.
Activists have highlighted their fear that recent restrictions have acted as a ‘trojan horse’ for further oppression which could further threaten women’s reproductive safety.
Hillary Margolis, senior women’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch commented that “The chaos and anxiety surrounding Covid-19 shouldn’t be used as a distraction from harmful attempts to push through dangerous legislation.”
The women of Poland are fighting back
However, despite the current situation and ongoing discrimination, marginalised demographics have been fighting against the government. Thousands of women have taken to the street in response to recent regulations and the promise to withdraw from the Istanbul convention.
Just this week, huge demonstrations have been seen across the streets of Poland as women marched for 14 nights in opposition to the Government’s oppressive agenda. Protestors have used the symbol of a red lightning bolt to signify their cause, this image being seen as a commonality across many protestor’s signs.
This wave of protests have come after a constitutional tribunal on October 22nd ruled that abortions would only be allowed in the case of rape, incest, and when the mother’s life is at risk. This new ruling has enraged women across Poland, the younger, previously silent, generation, in particular, taking to the streets to make their voices heard.
Since the ruling, the issue has also been shared extensively across social media with allies across the globe reposting pictures of the demonstrations and using common hashtags to raise awareness.
Women in Poland today face increasing discrimination and violence, however, their struggle is getting lost amidst COVID-19 regulations and a lack of global media attention. Despite this, it is clear that the Women of Poland and their allies are not prepared to go down without a fight. The more attention is drawn to this issue on the world stage, the more chance there is that women will find they are listened to by the government who have frequently avoided media attention of their sexist policies.
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