Poland to Shockingly Withdraw from Violence Against Women Treaty

Poland is to shockingly withdraw from the European violence against women treaty, more commonly known as the Istanbul Convention. Poland’s Minister of Justice announced the shock withdrawal on Saturday.

The Minister, Zbigniew Ziobro, claims that the Istanbul Convention is “harmful” because it requires children to learn about gender in school. He argues that their recent reforms over the last few years provide sufficient information and protection for women. However, this decision has not been taken likely by Polish citizens as thousands of women have taken to the streets to protest.

The treaty was first ratified in 2015 although Minister Ziobro has warned that the government has already begun the formal withdrawal process. More reasonings for this withdrawal is that the convention contained “elements of an ideological nature” which could violate the rights of parents.

Poland is currently experiencing a wave of strong anti-LGBTQ sentiment. Earlier this month the country elected President Andrzej Duda who campaigned on the promise to promote family values which are aligned with the Catholic Church. He even described the LGBTQ rights movement to be an ideology “more destructive than communism”.

Thanks for reading ‘Poland to Shockingly Withdraw from Violence Against Women Treaty’ make sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments below.