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# Polish region votes to overturn anti-LGBTQ+ policies
- URL: https://www.scenemag.co.uk/polish-region-votes-to-overturn-anti-lgbtq-policies/
- Published: 2021-09-24T11:03:59.000Z
- Updated: 2021-09-24T11:03:59.000Z
- Description: Lawmakers in Swietokrzyskie have voted unanimously to repeal 2019 regulations that declared the region an ‘LGBTQ+ free’ zone.
- Author: Rachel Badham
- Tags: News, Politics, Andrzej Duda, Eu, LGBTQ, Poland

Lawmakers in the Polish province of Swietokrzyskie have voted unanimously to repeal 2019 regulations that declared the region an ‘LGBTQ+ free’ zone after the EU threatened to withhold billions worth of funding if policies to accommodate the LGBTQ+ community were not made immediately. According to the [*Associated Press*](https://apnews.com/article/europe-poland-gay-rights-european-union-f48dac7bce36c30155eebfcfb4321f86?ref=scenemag.co.uk), the 2019 laws have been replaced with policies that offer *“a guarantee of equality and fair treatment for all.”*

Activist [Bart Staszewski](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/polish-leader-blames-lgbtq-activist-for-international-backlash/), known for protesting against Poland’s LGBTQ+ free zones, described the moment as a *“great day for Poland and great success of activists and civil society”*, adding: *“I am really moved.”* Despite the law changes in Swietokrzyskie, there are still approximately 100 LGBTQ+ free zones in the country. Opposition towards the community has grown rapidly since the 2020 re-election of anti-LGBTQ+ president Andrzej Duda who vowed to crack down on what he refers to as queer ‘ideology’.

![](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/poland-lgbt-rights.jpg)

Following the rise in anti-LGBTQ+ hostility in Poland, the EU launched the [LGBTIQ Equality Strategy](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/eu-creates-greater-protections-for-lgbtq-people/). This action plan aims to oppose right-wing regimes of prejudice against queer people after 43% of LGBTQ+ people reported being discriminated against in the last year. Explaining the strategy, EU commission vice-president Vera Jourova said: *“We will defend the rights of LGBTQ+ people against those who now have more and more appetite to attack them from this ideological point of view…This belongs to the authoritarian playbook and it does not have a place in the EU.”*