Poland signed the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence in December 2012, but it has not yet been ratified.
[10]The 2005 Law on Domestic Violence defines
domestic violence as “a single or repetitive intentional action or nonfeasance that violates the rights or personal goods of [family members], and particularly exposes those persons to danger of loss of life, health, destroys their dignity, personal inviolability, freedoms, including sexual freedom, harms their physical and psychic health, as well as causes suffering and moral damage to persons affected by violence.” The law imposes a pre-trial police supervision of perpetrators of domestic violence, but only if they leave the place where they stayed with the victim.
[11] The court may also require that the perpetrator stays away from the victim or undergo a therapy or educational programme – but there have been limitations in the successful implementation of these provisions.
[12]The 1997 Criminal Code punishes perpetrators of domestic violence from 3 months to 12 years of prison, depending on the gravity of the act.
[13]The National Programme of Combating Violence in Family for 2006-2016 was adopted by the Council of Ministers on 25 September 2006
[14]and aims to change public attitudes towards violence; increase the number of professionals helping the victims and perpetrators of domestic violence; and increase the number of support centres for family victims.
[15] In 2007, the Prime Minister appointed the Inter-Ministry Team to monitor the implementation of the National Program of Counteracting Domestic Violence.
[16]The 2010 Counteracting Domestic Violence Act was amended to introduce the establishment of a Monitoring Committee on Combating Violence in the Family, which was established in March 2011. The tasks of the Committee include monitoring activities in the area of combating violence and developing standards of help for victims of violence and standards of work with violence perpetrators, among others.
[17]In addition, since August 2010 when the amended Counteracting Domestic Violence Act of 10 June 2010 came into force, there are interdisciplinary teams in every
gmina in Poland (territorial self-government unit), which include representatives of: social assistance organisational units,
gmina committees for solving alcohol-related problems, the police, educational system, health protection system, NGOs and they may include other institutions. Interdisciplinary teams are responsible for taking measures aiming to provide joint assistance in individual cases but also for coordinating all activities concerning domestic violence.
[18]During the first half of 2012, police identified 8,942 cases of domestic violence (459 fewer than the same period in 2011). According to women’s organisations, the number of women affected by domestic abuse is under-reported, especially in small towns and villages.
[19]Poland has a nationwide emergency service for domestic violence victims called the “Blue Line”.
[20]There is also the “Safer Together” government programme launched in 2007 that aims to reduce crime and antisocial behaviour and is a good example of counteracting domestic violence.
[21] “Safer Together” is an eight-year programme (2007-2015) that includes educating victims about legal procedures and strengthening cooperation between the various organisations assisting victims.
[22]Rape, including spousal rape, is illegal and punishable by up to 12 years in prison. Stalking is punishable by a term of up to 10 years in prison.
[23]
Article 197 of the Criminal Code states that whoever forces another person to have sexual intercourse by force, threat or deceit shall be punished by a sentence of two to twelve years’ imprisonment.
[24] Article 199 of the Criminal Code punishes anyone who, using the relation of dependence or the critical situation of another person, forces that person to have sexual intercourse or any other form of sexual activity or forces a person to perform such an activity, by three years imprisonment.
[25]According to national police statistics, during the first half of 2012 there were 734 reported cases of rape, but the actual numbers are much higher according to NGOs, as women are often unwilling to report due to social stigma.
[26]Sexual harassment is understood as any unlawful conduct, both of a sexual nature and related to the sex of the victim. In terms of preventive measures, the Labour Code requires the employer to counteract discrimination in employment, for example on the ground of sex (section 94(2b)), as any incidents of unequal treatment make him accountable.
[27] Persons convicted of sexual harassment may be sentenced up to three years in prison.
[28]
Sexual harassment is reportedly commonly accepted with high levels of tolerance; however, there is a lack of reliable statistics and studies on the extent of sexual harassment.
[29] According to the Women’s Rights Centre, in 2012 sexual harassment continued to be a serious and underreported problem. Many victims do not report due to shame or fear of losing their job.
[30]More
Abortion is illegal in Poland, except for the following reasons: to save a woman’s life; to preserve a woman’s physical and mental health; in case of rape or incest; and because of foetal impairment. Article 4a of the „Law on family planning, human foetal protection and conditions for allowing termination of pregnancy” lists those exceptions.[30b]
Poland is a source, transit and destination country for both men and women subjected to conditions of forced labour and for women and children subjected to
sex trafficking.
[31]The Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings was adopted in Warsaw on 16 May 2005. This Convention intends to prevent and combat trafficking in human beings by guaranteeing gender equality and protecting the rights of victims of trafficking in human beings. In addition, the National Action Plan for Prevention and Suppression of Trafficking in Human Beings for 2005-2006 was formulated.
[32]
[10] Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, http://www.conventions.coe.int/Treaty/Commun /ChercheSig.asp?NT=210&CM=&DF=&CL=ENG[11] Polish Law on Domestic Violence (2005) [12] The Advocates for Human Rights, Violence Against Women in Poland (2009) [13]Criminal Code [14] EUCPN [15] The Advocates for Human Rights, Violence Against Women in Poland (2009)[16] The UN Secretary-General’s database on violence against women [17] EUCPN [18] EUCPN [19] US Department of State (2012) [20] Niebieska Linia [21] EUCPN [22] The Advocates for Human Rights, Violence Against Women in Poland (2009) [23] US Department of State (2012) [24] Criminal Code of Poland [25] Criminal Code of Poland [26] US Department of State (2012) [27] European Commission, DG Justice (2012) [28] US Department of State (2012) [29] European Commission, DG Justice (2012) [30] US Department of State (2012) [30b] Polish Journal of Laws (1993), „Law on family planning, human foetal protection and conditions for allowing termination of pregnancy” (Dziennik Ustaw 1993 nr 17 poz. 78) [31] United States Department of State, 2012 Trafficking in Persons Report – Poland [32] Member state questionnaires for 15th anniversary of Beijing Platform for Action
