Growing majority in Poland support same-sex civil unions or marriage, finds poll

A growing majority of Poles favour the legalisation of same-sex civil partnerships or marriage, with almost two thirds now in favour, a new poll has shown.

The survey by pollster Ipsos for liberal news website OKO.press asked respondents to pick one of three options: giving same-sex couples the right to enter legally recognised civil unions, giving them the right to marry, or to keep the existing law that allows neither possibility.

It found that a combined 64% favoured one of the first two options, which was up by eight percentage points from the same poll conducted in October last year. Over that period, the proportion in favour of granting the right to marry rose from 21% to 28%.

Meanwhile, 33% of respondents believe that the current law – which offers no form of legal recognition for same-sex couples – should not be changed,  six percentage points lower than eight months ago.

Other polling has also found growing support in Poland for same-sex partnerships, though not at the same high levels shown by Ipsos. State research agency CBOS last year found 36% of people in favour, up six percentage points since 2019 and ten since 2015.

There remain deep divisions within Poland over the issue, with younger Poles and those supportive of liberal and left-wing parties strongly favouring greater LGBT rights and older, more conservative voters opposed to such changes

Ipsos found the greatest support for same sex-same civil unions or marriage among people under 30 (82%) and left-wing voters (93%). The strongest opposition to such changes came from people over 60 (52%) and supporters of the ruling national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party (69%).

PiS has in recent years led a vocal campaign against what it calls “LGBT ideology”, which it depicts as dangerous, imported foreign ideas that undermine traditional moral and religious values in Poland.

At the same time, however, the LGBT community has itself become a more visible and vocal presence, organising a growing number of equality parades across Poland – including in smaller towns – to demand greater rights.

This week, opposition leader Donald Tusk declared his intention to introduce same-sex civil partnerships after coming to power. His centrist Civic Platform (PO) party, which contains both conservative and liberal factions, has long struggled to formulate a clear position on this issue.

Main photo credit: Max Bashyrov/Flickr (under CC BY-NC 2.0)

Alicja Ptak

Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.