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A year ago, it would have been unexpected for Poland to consider legislation that criminalises hate speech against LGBTQ+ individuals. However, recently, the nation’s new government has introduced a proposal that could change this.

The Ministry of Justice has put forward draft amendments that would impose up to three years in prison for a range of offences, from violence to undefined insults directed at individuals based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, or other factors.

This proposed legislation represents a significant shift from the previous administration’s stance. Under the conservative Law and Justice Party (PiS), Poland was known for its religious conservatism and less progressive stance on LGBTQ+ rights. The new proposal has been received positively by the LGBTQ+ community in Poland, which has faced extensive discrimination and state-backed repression.

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Despite the positive reception from some quarters, concerns have been raised about the precision of the legal language used in the amendments. The terms “insults” and “calls for hatred” have not been clearly defined, which could potentially include non-hateful speech under punishable offences, leading to broader legal implications.

This approach to legislative changes is not new in Poland. Similar issues have arisen in the past with amendments to the historical memory laws, where vague language led to legal actions against Holocaust scholars. Critics suggest that without more specific definitions, the new amendments might similarly enable politically motivated prosecutions and contribute to further division within the country on hot-button issues like LGBTQ+ rights and abortion.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government’s current proposal is part of a broader effort to align Poland more closely with European standards on human rights. However, for the amendments to be effective and not counterproductive, legal experts and commentators suggest that clarity and precision in the language of the law are imperative.

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