People of African descent are the least likely to experience discrimination in Poland among 13 member states included in a new study by the European Union’s Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA).
The agency surveyed thousands of people of African descent for its Being Black in the EU report, which was published today. It found that in Poland, 21% of respondents said they had experienced discrimination in the last five years, which was the lowest among all countries.
The next smallest figures were in Portugal and Sweden (both 27%). The highest proportions reporting discrimination were found in Germany (77%), Austria (76%) and Finland (66%).
The study also asked respondents if they had experienced discrimination in the last 12 months. Here, Poland’s figure (19%), was the second lowest, behind only Portugal (17%). The highest figures were again in Austria (67%), Germany (65%) and Finland (57%).
When asked about the kinds of discrimination they had faced, 20% of people of African descent in Poland said it had been based on skin colour, 12% on ethnic or immigrant background, and 1% due to religion or belief.
Regarding the context in which they had experienced discrimination, 15% of respondents in Poland said it had happened in relation to housing, 14% while looking for work, 11% at work, 7% in healthcare, and 3% in education.
A group of young black Polish women have created a new educational platform that aims to promote discussion, awareness and understanding around issues of race in Poland.
We spoke with the founders about their "Black is Polish" project https://t.co/aKNrlXLynI
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) June 23, 2021
Poland also had one of the highest levels of awareness among respondents of at least one equality agency working in the country. Its figure of 64% was behind only Denmark (67%).
Meanwhile, among people of African descent in Poland who had been stopped by police, 81% said that officers had been “very” or “fairly respectful”. That was the highest figure among all 13 countries included in the survey. Only 1% said the police had been disrespectful.
Across all countries surveyed, 58% of those who reported being stopped by police in the last 12 months perceived the stop as racially motivated. But in Poland, only 32% thought so. That was the second-lowest figure, behind only Luxembourg (22%).
The Polish government has condemned reports that it is turning away non-white people fleeing from Ukraine as “fake news”.
Such claims have been widely shared on social media and also repeated by some officials, including an aide to Nigeria's presidenthttps://t.co/PBQFe4Kbcr
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) February 28, 2022
The study also asked respondents if they had experienced racist harassment. In Poland, 22% said that they had in the last five years. Only Spain (21%), Luxembourg (21%), Sweden (13%) and Portugal (10%) had lower figures. The worst results were in Germany (54%), France (52%) and Austria (46%).
In Poland, 5% of respondents said they had suffered racist violence, a figure that was just above the average of 4% among all 13 countries surveyed.
FRA’s survey was conducted on a sample of 6,752 people of African descent in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. The sample in Poland was made up of 544 people.
A sign at a #BlackLivesMatter protest in Warsaw has sparked debate over the word "Murzyn", widely used in Polish to refer to black people but increasingly regarded as offensive.
We asked linguists, members of the black community and others for their views https://t.co/ehcioqcyLf
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) June 12, 2020
In recent years, Poland has experienced the highest levels of immigration in its history and among the highest anywhere in Europe. For the last six years running it has issued more first resident permits to immigrants from outside the EU than any other member state.
While the majority of those immigrants, around three quarters, are from neighbouring Ukraine, growing numbers have also been arriving from Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
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Main image credit: Jakub Orzechowski / Agencja Wyborcza.pl
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
