LGBTQ Rights in Poland are under attack

Around 100 Polish municipalities have declared themselves “LGBTQ-free zones”.

This means a third of Poland is affected by policies that have one goal: to exclude Polish LGBTQ+ people from society and to declare them enemies of the state.

The UK has close ties with Poland. One of its most significant ties is the sister cities programme which symbolically pairs towns in the UK to those in Poland as a way of fostering cross-cultural co-operation.

These three UK towns and districts are paired with a town in Poland that is part of an ‘LGBTQ-free Zone’:

Dulverton is paired with the town of Zwierzyniec.
Loughborough is paired with the city of Zamość.
South Kesteven is paired with the city of Przemyśl.

We need to call on these towns to stand up for LGBTQ rights and make a strong international statement by condemning the actions of their Polish counterparts.

You can make a difference right now by taking the two actions below:

Action 1: Send a letter

If you live in one of the towns or districts above, complete Step A then B, otherwise just go to Step B.

Step A: Send a letter to your local council

Send a letter to the Lead Councillor of your area and demand that they reassess the sister-city relationship between your area and its Polish counterpart.

First copy the text of the letter here, personalise it and then send it using one of the buttons below.

Step B: Send a letter to the Chair of the UK Parliamentary Group on Poland This group promotes a cross-cultural relationship between the UK and Poland at the national level. Write to the Chair of this group and tell them to stand up for LGBTQ rights by condemning the LGBTQ-free Zones in Poland. First copy the text of the letter here, personalise it and then send it using the button below.

If you don’t live in the UK

We’re teaming up with All Out to send a letter to the UK government demanding that they use their relations with Poland to put an end to LGBT+ free zones.

Action 2: Sign the petition

Now that you’ve contacted your local official, take further action and sign this All Out petition that’s calling on all the European sister cities to send a message of love and convince their Polish counterparts to respect LGBT+ citizens.

Thank you for taking action, now keep the pressure on!

Share this page with as many people as you know – especially if they live in one of the three sister-city towns above.