Poll: Support for marriage equality in Poland doubled over nine years, but remains low

According to a new poll, support for equal marriage in Poland has doubled since 2003, but still remains low.

The poll by TNS Polska indicated that in 2003, 8% of Polish people supported marriage equality, which had risen to 16% in 2012, reports Polskie Radio. 

The study was conducted between 6 and 10 December 2012 from a representative sample of 1000.

The poll also found that 43% of Poles supported cohabitation of unmarried couples in 2003, which rose to 51% in 2012.

Back in September 2012, Poland’s ruling centre-right party, Platforma Obywatelska (PO), announced that it would introduce legislation allowing gay couples to have civil unions.

It was seen as a step forward for gay rights in the Eastern European country – although it falls far short of marriage equality, and the measure was facing stiff opposition from social conservatives.

A study in Poland shows there were 992 new HIV infections reported in the country in 2011, and that two thirds of those who tested positive for the virus were in the gay community.

In December, a court in western Poland has ordered the Danish-owned supermarket chain Netto to pay a gay former employee damages after he was called a “faggot” by a manager.

Yesterday in the UK, three quarters of Conservative peers and 67% of cross-benchers surveyed in a poll said the government should call a halt to its plans to introduce equal marriage for England and Wales, according to ComRes.

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