"Equality was promised!" - this is how we summarize the words of politicians, officials, and state and local authorities made during the election campaign. The Equality March is about reminding decision-makers of promises made to the LGBTQ+ community by the October 15 Coalition and holding them accountable for these commitments. We march because words about equality cannot be thrown to the wind. Poland has remained at the very end of Europe for far too long when it comes to fulfilling obligations towards its citizens, respecting and protecting human rights, and ensuring equality and safety for all. Too many times, the rights and freedoms of minority groups were pushed aside. Too often we were told it was not the time to care about our rights. Too many times equality and freedom were used as empty campaign promises without delivery. A promise was made - we demand equality NOW.
Our demands
FULL MARRIAGE EQUALITY
In October 2024, a draft law on civil partnerships was published, granting same-sex couples limited rights, including inheritance and medical information access. However, full marriage equality and the right of same-sex couples to adopt children are still missing, which maintains legal inequality.
We demand full access to marriage for same-sex couples. This law should protect the interests and dignity of LGBTQ+ people in line with human rights standards and include community property, joint tax filing, inheritance rights and gift-tax exemption, funeral and survivor benefits, care allowance, access to a partner's health information, and joint adoption. It should also adequately protect transgender people currently in marriage, recognize same-sex marriages concluded abroad before legal reform, and allow transcription of birth certificates of children of same-sex couples issued abroad. Marriage equality should be introduced through a government bill, not a nationwide referendum.
STREAMLINING TRANSITION
In March 2025, the Supreme Court simplified legal gender recognition procedures by removing the requirement for transgender people to sue their parents. Despite this, the transition process still requires further improvements. We demand improvements in both legal and medical dimensions, ensuring the dignity and interests of transgender people. Legal reform should include easier gender marker changes in documents, replacing court proceedings with an administrative process, removing the requirement to match names to gender in legal name changes (following Spain), and liberalizing rules for choosing names not present in the name register - making decisions independent from individual clerks. We also demand recognition of non-binary identities through a third gender marker or removal of gender markers. We further call for easier access to medical transition and reimbursement of hormone therapy.
AMENDING THE CRIMINAL CODE AND SAFETY FOR LGBTQ+ PEOPLE
We demand immediate amendment of the Criminal Code to include a hate speech definition aligned with the Council of Europe and prosecution ex officio of hate crimes motivated by queerphobia and transphobia. The reform should include adding psychosexual orientation and gender identity to legally protected characteristics, ensuring safety and legal protection for sexual minorities. The amendment should provide comprehensive and cross-cutting changes across all areas of social life. We also demand introducing a definition of economic violence, banning so-called conversion therapies, and extending protection against domestic violence (including people in homelessness crisis). We call on President Andrzej Duda to sign the Criminal Code amendment law.
RELIABLE SEXUAL AND ANTI-DISCRIMINATION EDUCATION
We demand inclusion of reliable, high-quality sexual education and anti-discrimination education in the national curriculum, equipping students with knowledge and skills related to reproduction and reproductive rights, abortion, contraception, informed and safe sex, as well as discrimination, stereotypes, and hate crimes and their prevention. We call for restoring NGO access to schools to conduct educational workshops in line with the new curriculum. We also call for protection (including reliable psychological support) for social minorities in the education system. This protection should be ensured at least at the level of school/university statutes.
REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
We demand immediate amendment of abortion law to guarantee the right to terminate pregnancy based solely on the pregnant person's decision, without having to provide reasons, and to guarantee access to emergency contraception without prescription, preventing refusal of dispensing on the basis of the so-called conscience clause. Abortion law should be changed through a government bill, not a nationwide referendum.
MIGRANT RIGHTS AND THE RULE OF LAW
We oppose the Polish government's temporary suspension of the right to apply for international protection at the Belarus border. This decision, in force from March 27, 2025 for 60 days, with possible extension upon parliamentary approval, constitutes a serious violation of fundamental human rights and Poland's international obligations. The right to seek asylum is a fundamental right enshrined in the 1951 Geneva Convention and EU law. Suspending this right on a section of the border undermines those obligations and exposes people fleeing persecution to additional risk. Human rights are inalienable, inviolable, and universal - no institution, government, or individual has the right to take them away, and no one can waive them. We believe solidarity of the LGBTQ+ movement with other human-rights movements is the foundation of social justice. Violating one group's rights leads to erosion of rights for all, and excluding any community weakens society as a whole. Therefore, we oppose all forms of discrimination, repression, and restrictions of fundamental freedoms, regardless of who they affect.