Poland: a change so good, it makes you want to cry

Poland’s Law and Justice government, which came to power in October last year, has carried out a number of reforms which have attracted international attention, notably judicial and media reforms which have been the subject of an inquiry by the European Commission. Magdalena Mikulak argues that the government’s vision of change has left little room for alternative views and values, noting that there are now legitimate concerns about the effects of these reforms on Polish society and women in particular

The Polish Parliamentary elections 2015: A gender analysis

On 25 October, 50,92% of Polish citizens entitled to vote exercised their right to do so in the parliamentary elections. Yet, it is not the low turn out that made this year’s election unusual (turn out for the 2011 elections was 48,9%), but the sweeping victory for the right. The results gave the conservative right-wing party Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (PiS) (Law and Justice) 37,58% of the total vote allowing it to independently form a government. Commenting on the outcome, Adam Michnik, editor in chief of the most important left-leaning daily, Gazeta Wyborcza (Electoral Gazette), remarked that one cannot take offence at democracy. The ruling centre-right party Platforma Obywatelska (PO) (Civic Platform) came second (with 24,09% of the votes), followed by two entirely new parties – Kukiz’15, led by a populist rebel with many causes and no plan (8,81%) and the liberal, business orientated Nowoczesna.Pl (Modern.Pl) (7,6%). The only other party that made it past the electoral threshold (5% for a single party and 8% for a coalition) was Polskie Stronnictowo Ludowe (PSL) (Polish Peasant Party), which received 5,13% of the votes (Państwowa Komisja Wyborcza, 2015). The results for the upper house of the parliament, the senat were as follows: PiS 61%, PO 34%, PSL 1%, with the 4 remaining per cent going to independent candidates. In short, in the 26 years of Polish democracy, the parliament has never looked so right-wing, and the consequences of it will certainly be felt in areas such as gender equality and women’s rights, with the first becoming evident already in the electoral campaign

The victory of abortion rights protesters in Poland is likely to be short lived

A proposal to increase restrictions on abortion in Poland generated several large protests across the country in early October, with the proposal ultimately being voted down in parliament. Magdalena Mikulak argues that despite the apparent victory of the protesters, it remains likely that the government will nevertheless push for new restrictions on abortion

Politics of sexuality in neoliberal(ized) times and spaces: LGBT movements and reparative therapy in contemporary Poland

Research on the politics of sexuality and the LGBT movement in contemporary Poland tends to overlook the larger socio-economic changes that affect them. Omitting these processes from studies of sexuality, given the profound transformations occurring in Poland over the last two to three decades, produces incomplete accounts. This study builds on the existing knowledge of the politics of sexuality in contemporary Poland and extends it by addressing the question of whether and how processes of neoliberalization matter and how differences of class, gender, and location position subjects differently within the landscape of politics of sexuality. Through a mixed qualitative approach, combining content and discourse analysis with semi-structured in-depth interviews, this project addresses existing empirical and theoretical research gaps. Empirically, it engages with the LGBT movement in general, focusing on two largely unstudied phenomena: Christian LGBT organizing – as exemplified by Wiara i Tęcza (WiT, Faith and Rainbow) – and religiously motivated sexual reorientation therapy, also known as Reparative Therapy (RT). Theoretically, this study explores how processes of neoliberalization collude with existing patriarchal regimes shaping individual subjectivities, but also affecting the kind of politics that are possible both locally and globally. Drawing on the literature on sexuality and capitalism I argue that WiT’s project is best understood through what I term godly homonormativity. My analysis of RT is informed by the literature on psychotherapeutics and how these align with neoliberal ideas of personhood but moving beyond the individual level, I argue that RT should be understood as commodification of homophobia and it must be analyzed in relation to the neoliberal framework that enables it. Finally, I demonstrate that LGBT organizing and RT are classed, localized and gendered and argue that these complex intersections can only be understood by linking them back to the material conditions in which they are produced

Whose uncertainty? Learning disability research in a time of COVID-19

UK government responses to COVID-19 have intensified experiences of uncertainty for people with learning disabilities. The pandemic has eroded the support people receive, previously weakened by austerity measures. In research, COVID-19 related uncertainty has led to some reworking of methods and intensive contingency planning. This was to fulfil funding requirements and was underpinned by research teams’ commitment to continuing research with people with learning disabilities not despite, but because of the pandemic. This is in a context where people with learning disabilities have been systemically excluded from research participation. Here, we reflect on these processes in relation to a project exploring how to improve the support for older people with learning disabilities. We consider the distribution of uncertainty in relation to conducting research during this time and ask whose uncertainty is attended to in these mid- and post-pandemic methodological debates and why. We suggest pandemic ‘disruption’ has created space for critical reflection allowing methodological creativity and consideration of in between strategies of trust, intuition, and emotion. We caution against the re-constraining of this space, instead arguing for continuing flexibility and creativity, where uncertainties are shared rather than used as a tool of control or dismissal of claims to support

Sticky Categories and Their Negative Consequences: People with Learning Disabilities and ‘Behaviours that Challenge Others'

‘Behaviours that challenge others’ are attributed to 20% of people with learning disabilities. These behaviours are not a diagnosis, it is something people are labelled with. We conducted qualitative interviews with social care staff in the UK within four models of care: independent supported living, residential nursing home, Shared Lives, and living with family and attending a day opportunities centre. We examine how the category of ‘behaviours that challenge others’ is produced, applied, and contested in adult social care settings. We demonstrate its stickiness and discuss its stigmatising consequences. How behaviours are understood, felt, and talked about matters for the support people with learning disabilities receive and maps onto their consequent inclusion or exclusion from society. We point out the harms the category carries for people who receive it and argue that it should be abandoned

Health professionals’ identified barriers to trans healthcare: a qualitative interview study

Background: Trans people face multiple barriers within healthcare. Primary care practitioners are key to trans healthcare but they often lack training in, and understanding of trans identities, and healthcare options. Few studies have examined health professionals’ understanding of the barriers that exist in healthcare for trans people. Aim: To map out barriers to providing good quality healthcare to trans and gender diverse people and ways to address them. Design and setting: A qualitative interview study involving 20 health professionals working with trans and gender diverse people. Method: Participants were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling. Data were generated using semi-structured qualitative interviews. A thematic analysis involved coding and categorising data using Nvivo software and further conceptual analysis in which developing themes were identified. Results: The study identified four barrier domains to good quality care for trans and gender diverse people: structural (related to lack of guidelines, long waiting times, shortage of specialist centres), educational (based on lack of training on trans health), cultural and social (reflecting negative attitudes towards trans people) and technical (related to information systems and technology). Conclusion: There is an urgent need to address the barriers trans and gender diverse people face in healthcare. Structural level solutions include health policy, professional education and standards; at the practice level, GPs can act as potential drivers of change in addressing the cultural and technical barriers to better meet the needs of their trans and gender diverse patients

Sticky categories and their negative consequences: people with learning disabilities and ‘behaviours that challenge others’

‘Behaviours that challenge others’ are attributed to 20% of people with learning disabilities. These behaviours are not a diagnosis, it is something people are labelled with. We conducted qualitative interviews with social care staff in the UK within four models of care: independent supported living, residential nursing home, Shared Lives, and living with family and attending a day opportunities centre. We examine how the category of ‘behaviours that challenge others’ is produced, applied, and contested in adult social care settings. We demonstrate its stickiness and discuss its stigmatising consequences. How behaviours are understood, felt, and talked about matters for the support people with learning disabilities receive and maps onto their consequent inclusion or exclusion from society. We point out the harms the category carries for people who receive it and argue that it should be abandoned