Campaign Against Homophobia
Campaign Against Homophobia (original name: Kampania Przeciw Homofobii, abbreviation: KPH) is a Polish LGBT organisation, which aims to promote legal and social equality for people outside the heteronorm. It was founded in Warsaw in September 2001 and since it has grown to the biggest NGO of this kind in Poland. It has local branches in Kraków, Wrocław, Łódź, Tricity, Toruń and Silesia region. KPH and Lambda Warszawa Association, which very often cooperate (for example within specially formed foundations that organise events like Warsaw Pride and Culture for Tolerance Festival in Kraków) are together are the largest organisations of this kind in Poland.
President (from 11 September 2001 to 22 February 2009) and founder: Robert Biedroń.
Current president: Marta Abramowicz
KPH aims to contribute to establishing a tolerant society, in which gay, lesbian, transgender and other minorities feel comfortable in. It undertakes activities in numerous fields:
- conferences,
- exhibitions,
- demonstrations,
- intergation parties,
- workshops,
- meetings with politicians, academics,
- political lobbying
- providing legal and psychological counselling, inter alia at the internet portal www.mojeprawa.info
- publishing LGBT-rights quarterly Replika,
- publishing leaflets on various subjects,
- international human rights law and practice monitoring,
- cooperation with similar organisations from other countries and international bodies
etc.
KPH cooperates with other LGBT organisations associated at ILGA. Currently two members of KPH are appointed to the ILGA-Europe executive board in Brussels: Lisette Campus [1], and Tomasz Szypuła [2]. The exhibition was first shown in October 2009 for three weeks at the prestagious University Library in Warsaw where 500 brochures and 200 copies of the Yogyakarta Principles (translated into Polish) were distributed. It was also shown in Liblin, Wroclaw and Gdansk according to the Yogyakarta Principles in Action.[1]
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[edit] Milestones
Some of the activities undertaken by KPH have attracted massive publicity, and influenced the Polish public. These include:
- Niech nas zobaczą (Let Them See Us) - Photographs portraying gay and lesbian couples standing in the streets and holding hands were to be put by KPH on billboards in major Polish cities in 2003. However, before even occurring in the streets, this has caused enormous public outcry, and a debate on homosexuality on unprecedented scale in Poland. Arguments, that these photos would 'promote deviations' caused outdoor advertisement companies to withdraw from contracts on displaying them. As result the photos were displayed in art galleries. This however, was the point when according to some, discrimination became apparent and obvious (and publicised about) in Poland for the first time. [3](English)pl:Niech nas zobaczą(Polish)
- Jestem gejem, jestem lesbijką. Poznaj nas. (I'm gay, I'm a lesbian. Get to know us.) - was a tour around Polish universities: with educational meetings for students, teachers, and LGBT-people's parents - and for many, a first opportunity to talk with openly gay people.[4](Polish)
- Festiwal Kultura dla Tolerancji w Krakowie (Culture for Tolerance in Cracow Festival) - This annual Kraków-based Festival founded by KPH members and organised by Culture for Tolerance Foundation (Fundacja Kultura dla Tolerancji), features conferences, workshops, movie screenings, and parties. Its symbol is a controversial and high-concept art piece by US and EU best authors accompanied by numerous activities [5]
[edit] Criticism
Most criticism comes from the Polish right-wing politicians[citation needed], who do not support the aims of KPH, or gay rights in general. Other critics point to several links between KPH and post-communist or socialist political parties, and claim that KPH is a means of gaining recognition and popularity by KPH's higher-ups. Some people criticize its participation in organizing public gay rights marches - which usually inflict violent counter demonstrations, and suggest concentrating on other activities.
