When Polish writer Jacek Dehnel was a still in school, there were officially no homosexuals in the country. "A few years ago," he tells DW "I returned and saw openly gay couples; everybody knew about them." Dehnel, born in 1980, last year married his partner, fellow writer and translator Piotr Tarczynski, in London – as same-sex marriages are not permitted in Poland. But Dehnel concedes that much has improved lately. Today, he says, there are openly gay and transsexual MPs and mayors in Poland.

Even so, LGBT people are frequently insulted and attacked. Dehnel tell DW that "local lawmakers keep proclaiming that certain parts of Poland are now LGBT-free – just like areas were once declared Jew-free." The writer says this is extremely hurtful, even for those with particularly thick skin. Dehnel therefore urges LGBT to support each other, and to publicly come out.

At last week's first ever Pride Parade in the Polish town of Bialystok, Dehnel witnessed how deep-rooted and virulent anti-LGBT sentiments still are. Polish nationalists and hooligans insulted and spat at the protesters. They hurled rotten eggs, fireworks, stones and even urine-filled bottles at them.

On his Facebook page, the author described the scenes unfolding before his eyes: "We can see how about 10 meters away a group is being attacked by thugs. A tall man wearing a red balaclava covering his entire head is kicking people, including teenage girls. Some run away, and other angry 'knights' show up."

Dehnel (L) is hopeful for Poland's LGBT community

Dehnel, who was meant to hold an opening speech at the parade, had to wait until Polish police officers had finally brought the situation under control. He says "I am neither a protest-march speaker, nor a gay-rights activists, nor an old sage – but merely a writer, who happens to be gay."

Right-wing lawmakers stoking fear

Poland's conservative politicians are partially to blame for homophobic incidents like these. These lawmakers "tap into their voters' prejudices to stoke fear of a supposed threat," explains Michal Bilewicz, the director of the Center for Research on Prejudice at Warsaw University. He says that in 2015, they engaged in fear-mongering against migrants. In 2018, they targeted Jews (in the context of a heated international debate over the controversial amendment of Poland's Institute of National Remembrance law), and most recently stoked hatred of the LGBT community.

Bilewicz says that "in Poland, homophobia indicators are higher than in western Europe and even other parts of Eastern Europe – with the exception of Russia and the Caucasus." Bilewicz explains that "75% of Poles say they do not know any homosexuals." This is particularly true for Poland's Podlasie province, where the town of Bialystok is located. In this part of Poland, few LGBT people are open about their sexuality for fear of negative repercussions.

Countries that have legalized same-sex marriage 2001, The Netherlands The Netherlands was the first country in the world to permit same-sex marriages after the Dutch parliament voted for legalization in 2000. The mayor of Amsterdam, Job Cohen, wedded the first four same-sex couples at midnight on April 1, 2001 when the legislation came into effect. The new law also allowed same-sex couples to adopt children.

Countries that have legalized same-sex marriage 2003, Belgium The Netherlands' neighbor, Belgium, followed the Dutch lead and legalized same-sex marriage two years later. The law gave same-sex partners many of the rights of their heterosexual counterparts. But unlike the Dutch, the Belgians did not initially allow same-sex couples to adopt children. The Belgian parliament passed a bill granting them that right three years later.

Countries that have legalized same-sex marriage 2010, Argentina Argentina became the first Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriages when its Senate voted 33 to 27 in favor of it in July 2010. Argentina thereby became the tenth country in the world to permit gay and lesbian marriages. The South American country was not the only one to do so in 2010. Earlier in the year, Portugal and Iceland also passed same-sex marriage legislation.

Countries that have legalized same-sex marriage 2012, Denmark Denmark's parliament overwhelmingly voted in favor of legalization in June 2012. The small Scandinavian country had made headlines before when it was the first country in the world to recognize civil partnerships for gay and lesbian couples in 1989. Same-sex couples had also enjoyed the right to adopt children since 2009.

Countries that have legalized same-sex marriage 2013, New Zealand New Zealand became the 15th country worldwide and the first Asia-Pacific country to allow gay and lesbian marriages in 2013. The first couples were married on August 19. Lynley Bendall (left) and Ally Wanik (right) were among them when they exchanged vows on board an Air New Zealand flight from Queenstown to Auckland. France legalized same-sex marriage the same year.

Countries that have legalized same-sex marriage 2015, Ireland Ireland made headlines in May 2015 when it became the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage through a referendum. Thousands of people celebrated in the streets of Dublin as the results came in showing almost two-thirds of voters opting for the measure.

Countries that have legalized same-sex marriage 2015, USA The White House was alight in the colors of the rainbow flag on June 26, 2015. Earlier, the US Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 that the constitution guaranteed marriage equality, a verdict that paved the way for same-sex couples to be married across the country. The decision came 12 years after the Supreme Court ruled that laws criminalizing gay sex were unconstitutional.

Countries that have legalized same-sex marriage 2017, Germany Germany became the fifteenth European country to legalize gay and lesbian marriages in June 30, 2017. The bill passed by 393 to 226 in the Bundestag, with four abstentions. German Chancellor Angela Merkel voted against the bill, but paved the way for its passage when she said her party would be allowed to vote freely on the measure only days before the vote took place.

Countries that have legalized same-sex marriage 2017 - 2018, Australia Following a postal survey which showed the majority of Australians were in favor of same-sex marriage, the country's parliament passed a law to legalize it in December 2017. As couples in Australia have to give authorities one month's notice of their nuptials, many of the first weddings took place just after midnight on January 9, 2018 - including that of Craig Burns and Luke Sullivan, pictured.

Countries that have legalized same-sex marriage 2019, Taiwan In May 2019, the island state became the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage. The government survived an attempt by conservative opposition to water down the bill. Gay couples are able to offically register their marriage from May 24 onwards. President Tsai Ing-wen called it "a big step towards true equality."

Countries that have legalized same-sex marriage 2019, Ecuador The Andean state's top court ruled 5-4 to allow two gay couples to marry in June. The decision followed a ruling from the Inter-American Court on Human Rights affirming that countries should allow same-sex couples the right to marry. Author: Alexander Pearson



Michal Bilewicz says that "when there are no direct encounters between such people" there is no opportunity to reflect on one's prejudices. This, he says, leads to the problem that "politicians then declare migrants, Jews or LGBT people to be enemies." Which, in turn, leads to violence. Bilewicz therefore says "the best cure against prejudice is to know someone from this group, like a neighbor, salespersons or teacher." Then, he says, people soon realize we are not all that different from one another.

Poland at a crossroads

Jacek Dehnel says Polish society has become more liberal in recent years – despite the electoral victory of the national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party four years ago. According to a recent survey, 56% of Poles say they approve of civil partnerships, while 41% back same-sex marriages. Dehnel recalls that "10 years ago, just 16% were in favor."

And in spite of the violent clashes at last weekend's Bialystok Pride Parade, he is optimistic about the future: "There used to be just two or three such marches per year in Poland; this year there will be 25."

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He says the Bialystok and Lublin marches were a first, and that a few years ago, holding them there would have been unthinkable. Dehnel says today, more and more LGBT people are coming out. "Some do this to become role models for teens who are still unsure about their sexual identity," he explains. Adding that role models are very important, as "LGBT teens are six times more likely to consider suicide than their non-LGBT peers – and we know that thinking such thoughts often lead to the real thing." This is what Jacek Dehnel underscored at his Bialystok Pride Parade speech.

He says Poland is at a crossroads: "Either there will be a liberalization, just as there was in deeply Catholic Malta, where after a political transition same-sex marriages are now legal." Or, he says, Poland will take the route of "Catholic fundamentalism akin to Islamist countries."