Laws in action or action without laws? Understanding the legal and policy responses to hate crimes based on sexual orientation in Poland

Between 2005 and 2015 the Polish government stepped up efforts to counter violence based on sexual orientation, but the legal framework remained unchanged: Unlike in the case of racist violence, the homophobic motivation of a crime does not attract a higher penalty. Recognizing sexual orientation hate crime in some areas (e.g. police training) but refusing to legislate is unique in Europe, yet has not, so far, been an object of academic interest. For this reason, this dissertation seeks to understand why the passage of legislation providing higher penalties for sexual orientation hate crimes in Poland proved more difficult than for other forms of bias crimes. The thesis finds that the joint efforts of nongovernmental and international organizations resulted in the improvements in the handling and monitoring of hate crime. These actors, however, were too weak to garner the political support for a change in the law. The key reasons for this include weak external conditioning, suboptimal advocacy strategies, illiberal politicians, and the historicism of laws. The study uses a multi-method approach, with Poland selected as the key case study and additional insights gained through a quantitative comparative analysis of Council of Europe states. Data sources include legal and policy texts, interviews and observation. The findings are interpreted through a combination of social movement outcome theories in the context of Europeanization

Not Ideal, But Still Acknowledged: A 10-Country Survey on Empathy for Victims of Anti-LGBT Violence

Using data from a cross-national survey conducted on representative samples of populations from 10 European countries ( n = 10,766), the present study is the first one to empirically measure the validity of Christie’s influential ideal victim model. We use a range of scenarios built around common types of anti-LGBT violence to verify the extent to which the public’s empathy for victims is contingent on the victim’s identity and the circumstances of the crime. The results provide strong evidence that, when applied to this group of victims, the rules of the ideal victim work, adequately moderating the public’s emotional reactions. We found that all victims receive relatively high levels of empathy, but the further the victim is from the ideal, the less support they can count on. Thus, even though no victim is “rejected,” a clear hierarchy of victimization emerges. As a group, LGBT people suffer from an empathy deficit, but there also are considerable variations within this group, with a lesbian attacked by extremists receiving the most, and a drunk transgender person receiving the least empathy from the public. The study contributes to the development of theory by embedding the ideal victim model in a broader sociological paradigm of dramaturgical analysis. Since our research shows that the victim’s LGBT status decreases the levels of empathy (being seen as a type of stigma), we call for more attention to be paid to the actor’s identity in Goffman’s framework. Implications for practice and further research are offered.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

To Geneva and back: externalising anti-LGBT hate crime as a policy issue

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

To Geneva and back: externalising anti-LGBT hate crime as a policy issue

How and why states legislate against hate crime and what role various actors – including human rights movements and international bodies – play in enacting change is attracting increased scholarly interest. Drawing upon primary, mixed-methods research, with Poland as our case study, this paper seeks to understand how new transnational advocacy opportunities change the way local activists push for improved legal protection from anti-LGBT violence. Using Keck and Sikkink’s (1998) ‘boomerang’ model as our interpretative frame, we observe how Polish LGBT groups systematically work with intersectional and transnational networks to feed their grievances to international human rights institutions, which, in turn, apply pressure on the government to amend hate crime laws. We argue that such externalisation of hate crime as a policy issue is a result of the closing of political opportunity structures at home and the simultaneous appearance of advocacy opportunities abroad along with increased resources being made available to the LGBT movement. While the state still hesitates to change the law, there are signs that calls for a new approach to addressing hate crime, promoted by activists and international organisations, are increasingly being heard by bureaucrats in Warsaw, even if there is currently no political will to make any changes

Praca z osobami pokrzywdzonymi przestępstwami motywowanymi uprzedzeniami ze względu na orientację seksualną i tożsamość płciową: Praktyczny przewodnik.

MMSID: 9912797286320642

sj-sps-2-jiv-10.1177_08862605221139196 – Supplemental material for Not Ideal, But Still Acknowledged: A 10-Country Survey on Empathy for Victims of Anti-LGBT Violence

sj-sps-2-jiv-10.1177_08862605221139196 for Not Ideal, But Still Acknowledged: A 10-Country Survey on Empathy for Victims of Anti-LGBT Violence by Piotr Godzisz and Jacek Mazurczak in Journal of Interpersonal Violence</p

sj-docx-3-jiv-10.1177_08862605221139196 – Supplemental material for Not Ideal, But Still Acknowledged: A 10-Country Survey on Empathy for Victims of Anti-LGBT Violence

Supplemental material, sj-docx-3-jiv-10.1177_08862605221139196 for Not Ideal, But Still Acknowledged: A 10-Country Survey on Empathy for Victims of Anti-LGBT Violence by Piotr Godzisz and Jacek Mazurczak in Journal of Interpersonal Violence</p

sj-sav-1-jiv-10.1177_08862605221139196 – Supplemental material for Not Ideal, But Still Acknowledged: A 10-Country Survey on Empathy for Victims of Anti-LGBT Violence

sj-sav-1-jiv-10.1177_08862605221139196 for Not Ideal, But Still Acknowledged: A 10-Country Survey on Empathy for Victims of Anti-LGBT Violence by Piotr Godzisz and Jacek Mazurczak in Journal of Interpersonal Violence</p

Selected Determinants of Sustainable Transport in the Context of the Development of a Low-Carbon Economy in Poland

Road transport is one of the key elements of economic development that helps build social and territorial cohesion. The economic development that has taken place in Poland over the last three decades has led to an improvement in road infrastructure throughout the country. Construction of new roads and improvement of existing ones promotes economic development. However, as the number of cars increases, so does the level of air emissions. In reducing pollutant emissions, the analysis of the technological possibilities used and the improvement of their efficiency with the simultaneous minimization of generated pollution is also of particular importance. The purpose of the publication is to present development trends in road transport in Poland and the possibility of reducing emissions in this respect. The method of analysing strategic documents and statistical data was used to achieve this goal. Moreover, the article shows perspectives for reducing the level of emissions from road transport and refers to the assumptions related to the modernization of the transport sector and reducing its share in carbon emissions and its sustainable development in cities